


Consequences (An Undertale Fanfic)

by Abbinormal25



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Aborted Undertale Genocide Run, Attempted Undertale Genocide Run, Demonic Possession, Gen, Genocide Frisk, References to Undertale Genocide Route, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 14:09:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 50,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7535812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abbinormal25/pseuds/Abbinormal25
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just my little Undertale fanfic.</p><p>Watch my dA for more frequent updates XD<br/>http://abbinormal25.deviantart.com/</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Consequences (Part 1)

Consequences Part 1

Frisk felt their soul being pulled upwards toward the golden roof of the judgement hall. They tried to let their muscles relax, knowing that their efforts would be useless. But SHE wouldn't comply. Chara fought furiously for control of Frisk's body again before her response was met with a cold, hard slam into the floor. Frisk felt their body burning as if every bone had had been broken. Blood dripped from their nose. Chara jumped quickly up to avoid the array of bones, ignoring Frisks cries of agony with in the shared soul. She moved stealthily around the corridor to avoid the blasts of lethal light.

"i never understood why people never used their most powerful attacks first" said their familiar attacker, shrugging. 

Fisk stifled a cry knowing what Chara would do next. She grasped the knife which seemed to burn in Frisk's hands. She charged forward towards their old friend, and companion. They thrust the knife towards the skeleton as Frisk tried uselessly to stop her hand. Sans stepped quickly to the side causing Chara to fly forward. Frisk used all of their failing determination to trip her on their feet. She fell forward onto her face again.

"Frisk you moron." Growled Chara under her breath.

"what, you think i'm just gonna stand there and take it?" Asked Sans. He continued to throw the small demon and child around like a rag doll.

At one point in the seemingly endless battle, Sans looked at the child with pity in his eyes and talked about their previous timeline together. 

"i know you didn't answer me before, but... somewhere in there. i can feel it. there's a glimmer of a good person inside of you. the memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. someone who, in another time, might have even been... a friend? c'mon, buddy. do you remember me? please, if you're listening... let's forget all of this, ok? just lay down your weapon, and... well, my job will be a lot easier."

He remembered them. He remembered Frisk. He held his arms out to them offering mercy. Chara was taken aback for a moment at this seemingly ludacris offer. She lost control over Frisk's soul for a moment as they dropped the knife and ran into their friend's open arms. They began sobbing terribly into his jacket.

"Frisk, no!" Shrieked Chara.

"you're sparing me? finally. buddy. pal. i know how hard it must be... to make that choice. to go back on everything you've worked up to." 

"No, n-no, Sans..." Frisk cried brokenly. "I didn't want this. I-I just want things to go back... Back to the way they were before...I-I'm sorry m-my friend."

"friend?" Sans muttered. He rubbed his boney fingers through Frisk's blood-soaked hair. They were...shaking? Why?

"i want you to know... i won't let it go to waste." He said with a dark tone deep in his voice.

Sans' grip suddenly tightened on the small child. Frisk looked up, frightened, seeing his eye sockets grow dark. His fists were clenched, shaking in anger.

"S-sans? Wha-" Before they could finish their sentence, everything went silent. Frisk found them-self looming up above Sans, the judgement hall in full view. Frisk was completely numb, feeling as if the world had stopped suddenly.

Frisk looked down in confusion only to find the shaft of a bone impaling them and lifting them up above the ground. Betrayed by Sans, in the same way that Chara had betrayed his brother. Frisk froze and hung up above the ground for what felt like an eternity. The bone suddenly disintegrated into dust, sending Frisk face first into the floor. 

They turned their weak head slightly to see Sans approaching them as their vision blurred and darkened. He got down on one knee and began to rub his fingers through Frisk's hair again. He suddenly picked their small hand up off the ground and caressed it. 

"kid..." He said with pity in his voice, "if we really are friends..." He sighed heavily, "You won't come back."

RESET 

Chara was in control again. The powers of load and save and... Reset. It seemed that before Frisk could even process the reality dark void, they stood back in the judgement hall, Chara giggling horrifically.

"You idiot..." Chara giggled, "You really think he would just let you go after everything you've done. Killing all those poor monsters...killing his defenseless brother" Frisk cried out in agony begging her to stop. "No, Frisk. There's no turning back now."

Frisk's soul seemed to break more with every fight, and every death. Every minute in the void, a little more of Frisk began to fade. It seemed they had become mostly Chara. Chara couldn't even hear their soul's cries anymore, much to her glee. 

Frisk seemed completely gone, until around Chara's 11th battle with Sans. Chara stood, facing Sans with her eyes closed and her head down.

"hmm. that expression...that's the expression of someone who-"

"Let go." He was interrupted by the dark voice of....Chara?

"wha-"

"Let GO!" They said again.

"kid? what are you-"

"I SAID LET GO OF ME!" They shouted fiercely. "Chara...."

The name seemed to send chills down Sans's spine. It was Frisk, and with their last touch of determination, vowed to stop Chara's reign of terror. Frisk raised their head slowly, and opened their eyes. One was blue and the other...red. Sans was taken aback by this. What was happening? Sans watched as the edges of Frisk's soul had cracked and were beginning to spread to the center.

Frisk smiled softly as tears began to fill their eyes. They began to finger the knife.

"I couldn't do it anymore, Sans." They said quietly. "Chara made me do terrible things, take the lives of so many friends. Toriel, Undyne, Mettaton...." They paused, "Papyrus.....But... That won't ever happen again. I tore my soul away from her, leaving both of us weakened. But...it's my body so..." Frisk was breathing hard, gasping slightly in pain. "I have control for now. But if Chara gets it back....She can reset, and gain all her power back." 

Sans tried to interrupt them. He knew the nature of souls and timelines enough to know what Frisk was thinking. But....the idea of possession...it shocked him. Was this...really the same Frisk? The one who'd been pranked with ketchup by him, the one who he'd stacked hotdogs on top of, the one who's laugh, made him genuinely smile for the first time in a long time? That spare? That hug? Was that...real?

"If I die now, while in control. I will have the power of resetting. And I can go back to the very beginning...This....this is the end." They paused slightly before looking Sans in the eye sockets again. "Sans..." The knife became firm in their small, childish hands. "I-I'll see you around."

Frisk plunged the knife deep into their stomach, freezing, lunged over from shock. Sans stared at them in horror, blood dripping from their mouth, before they collapsed onto the floor. 

"Frisk!"

The voice of Toriel woke Frisk from their reoccurring nightmare. They sat up, finding themself wrapped in an oversized hoodie, clutching a large, red scarf like a blanket.

"Frisk, my child, are you alright?" Toriel was sitting on the bed, stroking Frisk's hair tenderly. They looked outside to see that it was still dark outside.

Frisk quickly wrapped their arms around Toriel and started whimpering.

"Mom... I-I'm sorry. I-I'm sorry. Please don't be mad." Toriel looked surprised at them.

"My child, it is alright. I was up anyways. You should not apologize for having nightmares." Frisk couldn't think of anything to say. They just sobbed, thinking of the horrible things they'd done. All because they wanted to help someone. All because they wanted to bring someone back from the dark. All because of him...Asriel.


	2. Consequences (Part 2)

Consequences Part 2

"Frisk?" Asked Toriel tenderly, "Do you want to talk about it? You've had so many nightmares since we came here. Did something happen to you?"

Frisk shook their head. "No, nothing really bad happened here...." They pushed away from Toriel and sat up against the wall. "I just keep having this dream" They started. "And everyone dies..." Frisk paused in the middle of their half-truth, "And there's nothing I can do to stop it." 

A half truth is a full lie, Frisk had always been taught as a child. Their conscience ached to tell Toriel the truth but deep in their soul they knew she wouldn't understand. Saying that Frisk was possessed by the ghost of her dead child and forced to kill every monster in the underground because they were trying to save her dead son would not only be cruel and depressing for Toriel, but also absolutely insane to someone who could not understand the concept of save and load or reset. Instead, Frisk just bowed their head in sorrow, feeling completely isolated from help.

Toriel took Frisk's hands gently. They shuddered and flinched as they remembered Sans' last words when Frisk was brutally betrayed by their close friend in one of their fights. Toriel tilted her head slightly, confused, but just passed it off as simply being uneasy after their dream.

"Frisk, my child, you have no reason to fear." Toriel said comforting them. "We are all here and safe on the surface and it is all because of you." She smiled at Frisk, almost with a sense of pride, as if Frisk was their own child.

But Frisk knew deep inside, that their nightmare could not have been more real. And the death of every monster was also all because of them. They still remembered the corse feeling of Toriel's dust on their hands. Frisk simply smiled up at Toriel before lunging onto her for a goodnight hug. 

"Thank you mama." Frisk said naively. " I feel better now." They lied. "It's just a dream..." Frisk paused, "It never happened." They said under their breath.

Toriel could see transparently through Frisk's lie. A mother's intuition, one could say. She sighed deeply and patted her child on the head.

"If you need anything my child, I will be in the next room." As she walked through the door and turned to look at Frisk, who was simply staring at their hands. Her eyes grew full of pity as she watched her child. As she went to close the door, she was interrupted by Frisk.

"Mama?" They asked,

"Yes, darling?" 

"C-can you tell me about...." They froze, realizing what they were about to ask her. "No...never mind. It's ok." Toriel sighed and smiled pitifully at them before turning and closing the door. Frisk took a deep breath and collapsed onto the bed. They grasped their stomach. The pain felt so real. The knife seemed to pierce their stomach so slowly.

"Chara...." They said under their breath, finishing their question to Toriel. "Why Chara? Why do you hate humanity so much? Why do you hate...them. Why did you do this to me?" They closed their eyes, and slipped back into their memories

 

"Don't worry about me. Someone has to take care of these flowers."

"Asriel?" Frisk whispered. Asriel sighed deeply.

"Frisk, please leave me alone." Tears filled his eyes. "I can't come back. I-I just can't." He turned to look at the bed of golden flowers. "I don't want to break their hearts all over again. It's better if they don't see me." He tried to hide his face, rubbing his nose on his sleeve. "Frisk, why are you still here?" He asked. "Trying to keep me company?" he said coldly.

Frisk put their hand on Asriel's shoulder. He hesitated for a moment then placed his paw on top of it and turned to face Frisk. 

Asriel looked at Frisk tenderly and asked them why they had come to Mt. Ebott in the first place despite the legends of trackers disappearing. Frisk thought about it for a moment. So many things had come to pass that drove Frisk to run away from their old life. Maybe it was the bullying, or their foster parents' fights, or maybe being tossed onto the street as a punishment with only a small stick to defend themself. Frisk still had it with them, after all this time. It seemed to become some sort of an emblem to them. Even if it could have gone for 150G at the Tem Shop.

"It's ok," Asriel smiled tenderly, "I don't need to know. Only you know the answer." He turned and looked down at the flowers. "I know why Chara climbed the mountain....it wasn't for a very happy reason."

Chara! The name they had been called so many times before. The first fallen human. Asriel began to talk about Chara's hatred for humanity, how climbing the mountain and.....disappearing was the only way she felt she could escape. Asriel also told about Chara's death and how he had absorbed her soul, giving her half of the control over his body. Chara carried her own body to the surface and when Asriel was attacked, tried to use full power over all the humans.

Instead, Asriel withheld their power and was wounded to the point of death. Kill or be killed became his motto. A sudden realization came to Frisk's mind. Asriel died, to keep his sister from killing anyone. He never wanted to hurt anyone. He didn't deserve this. He deserved to live happily with his family.... 

"Frisk?" He said, interrupting them from their train of thought. "Thank you for listening to me. But you're should really go be with your friends." 

"Asriel, I'm not going to leave you like this." Said Frisk, "I'll come back for you and then, somehow, I'll get you the happy ending you deserve!" Asriel chuckled lightly.

"Frisk, don't you have anything better to do?" He asked sadly. 

 

Frisk intended to keep their promise to Asriel. They crossed over the barrier and at the end, were again given the option to reset. But not a normal reset. A true reset. One that would erase everything. Even Sans' and Flowey's memories. But there was no other choice. They just couldn't leave Asriel there. Before Frisk could press the button, they were interrupted by a small, familiar voice.

"Seems everyone's finally happy. Monsters have returned to the surface. Peace and prosperity will rule across the land." Frisk moved their hand from the button and turned, grieving to meet the face of the mysterious voice. Flowey. Frisk kept their hand over the reset button just in case.

"Hey," he said, "Take a deep breath. There's nothing left to worry about." He paused for a moment. "Well there is one thing. One last threat." Frisk stared at Flowey more intensely now. What was he talking about?

"One being with the power to erase everything. Everything everyone's worked for." Frisk froze realizing what Flowey was trying to say. "That's right, I'm talking about YOU."

Flowey told Frisk that they could still tear everyone from this timeline, before anything had ever happened.

"Asriel...." Frisk said quietly. "I'm doing this for you. I'm not going to leave you here."

"This power, this is the power you've been fighting to stop this whole time. The effects of your and my determination. The power I wanted to use.... But I don't think I could do this all again...I don't even want that power anymore...."

"Asriel, I'm going to make sure you get a happy ending too." Frisk said, sounding determined. "Chara did this, not you. I'm going to find a way to bring you back."

"Please, just let them go." Flowey said quietly, "Just let Frisk be happy." 

What? Let FRISK be happy? Who was he talking to if not to them?

"Just let them live their life. But if I can't change your mind. And you do end up erasing everything, just know you'll be erasing my memories too. Anyways...you've probably heard this a hundred times by now." 

A hundred times? Frisk had just finished this timeline? What was Flowey talking about. It seemed that Flowey barely noticed their presence.

"Well that's all...." He said calmly, "See you later....Chara." And he was gone.

Before Frisk even had time to process what had just been said, they felt their hand slam against the reset button, sending them flying back through the timelines, back to the very beginning.

 

 

Frisk awoke staring up at the pinprick of light shining through the hole of the ruins. They sat up, and found themself lying in a patch of golden flowers. The same spot where they had just spoken to Asriel. They quickly got up and headed out of the entrance without even having anytime to process what was happening. It was like...they weren't even in control of their own body.

"What's happening to me?" Frisk asked, only to find that their words were simply thoughts echoing in their own head. They quickly approached Flowey's room to find him sitting there, putting on a fake face of joy! 

"Howdy! I'm Flowey! Flowey the-" Flowey's words suddenly stopped and skipped right to the lesson with his "friendliness pellets", as if someone had completely skipped their speech. Frisk was confused and somewhat terrified, unsure of what was happening. Frisk absentmindedly dodged his bullets without even thinking of it. Flowey became obviously pissed off. He sent his "friendliness pellets" flying towards Frisk twice more, Frisk avoiding twice again. Flowey's eyes became dark, and his smile became maniacal. 

"You know what's going on here? Don't ya?" He asked. "You just wanted to see me suffer?" 

The rest of the fight was the same as the last time. Flowey repeated his motto of kill or be killed, before being stopped by Toriel. Her words seemed to be skipped over too, but Frisk seemed to have relevant control over their body again. They completed Toriel's puzzles with ease and made their way through the ruins like normal. 

That is, until another strange occurrence happened. The training dummy. Toriel's words were skipped over again, leaving Frisk alone with the dummy. Before they had even a chance to talk to Toriel's dummy, their hand rose to strike the dummy with their stick, killing it instantly. Toriel seemed slightly concerned, but passed it off after telling Frisk that "the dummies were for talking, not fighting" 

But this was completely different nothing felt right to Frisk, not even their own skin. They were losing control quickly over themselves, almost like...possession. Was this her? The human Asriel had spoken of? Perhaps Frisk and Flowey weren't alone in that void. Maybe Flowey had been right when he said goodbye to Chara? Was this Chara?

FROGGIT HOPPED CLOSE

Frisk heard a small giggle echo in their head, as their hand instinctively reached for their weapon.


	3. Consequences (Part 3)

Consequences Part 3  
  
Frisk waited for about half an hour before climbing out of bed. Taking the hoodie and scarf they walked quietly toward Toriel's door and opened it. As suspected, she was fast asleep. They quietly closed the door shut behind them. Frisk crept down the dark hallway of their new home. It was almost like Toriel and Asgore's homes underground, except the air felt slightly clearer.   
  
Frisk donned the oversized jacket and zipped it up. The sleeves flopped inches under their hands. They draped the red scarf over them and wrapped it around their neck and pulled the hood over their head. They felt the crisp late-fall breeze as they opened the door. The cold was refreshing. They stepped out into the cold and shut the door behind them.  
  
Winter would be here soon. Frisk knew that the winters on the surface would be nothing like Snowdin. The snow underground was produced by magic. The cold was not harmful or uncomfortable (unless of course you're a fish-lady) and everyone just seemed happy it was there.   
On the surface, however, winter was an enemy and a threat, snow stopping traffic, making areas hard to get through, destroying plants, and killing anything that was left out there too long.  
  
Frisk almost missed the underground. Though they had not been there long, it seemed more like home that any foster home had been to them. Frisk stuffed their  hands into oversized pockets and buried their nose into their scarf. They walked around for a bit through familiar forests, alone with its creatures and the peaceful sound of leaves crunching under their feet.   
  
As they walked, Frisk lost themselves in their own mind, pondering the great philosophical questions of a child's mind. They tried not to think of the genocide they had committed only a reset ago. The terrible haunting presence of Chara seemed to be following them. Slowly, Frisk came to a realization that they couldn't ignore the Onionsan in the room forever. They had to find out more about what had happened to them. They had to learn more about Chara.   
  
  
  
FROGGIT BLOCKS THE WAY  
  
"Finally," said a voice in Frisk's head clutching their stick. "Sparing these things took forever."  
  
"What's going on?" Frisk cried panicked, "Who are you? What are you doing?" But the voice didn't answer again. Frisk felt their hand move on its own, thrusting their weapon at the naive creature. It struck the Froggit at full force. It stumbled back for a moment, confused before turning to dust. Frisk fell forward onto their knees over the Froggit's dust. What had they done?  
  
"Get up," growled the voice, "I don't have time for this." Frisk was quickly pulled back up on their feet again and continued to follow Toriel through the ruins. When Toriel left them alone, Frisk quickly escaped the ruins and began seeking random encounters. Against Frisk's will, the voice was causing them to kill every monster they came upon. Soon there were no monsters left in the ruins. Even the little ant sized Froggit was missing. Frisk was crying for help, screaming for someone to come set them free of this. But nobody came.  
  
At this point, Frisk returned to the area where Toriel's house was. Before walking forward towards the house, they took a right, into a little room where a single toy knife lay on the ground. The voice tossed their little stick aside and picked up the knife before turning to Toriel's house.  
  
"No no! Stop! You can't!" Cried Frisk. But they were no longer in control of their own body.  
  
Toriel came outside to greet them, commenting on the fact that they didn't have a scratch on them. They followed Toriel into her house and into their new room. They fell asleep almost instantly, before awaking to the smell of butterscotch-cinnamon pie in their room. They took the pie and quickly headed into the hall.   
  
"Please, why are you doing this?" Frisk whimpered feebly, "Who are you?" Pausing for a minute, Frisk felt something within them, like the creature inside them was trying to think of a way to respond. They walked over to the east side of the hall, and looked into the mirror. Frisk looked to see that it wasn't their reflection in the mirror, but the reflection of a girl, smiling wickedly at them.  
  
"It's me!" Said the voice cheerfully, "Chara."  
  
"W-what? Chara?" The first fallen human, Asriel's sister, Toriel's child, but how? "N-no, no you're dead!"  
  
"Maybe," said Chara giggling, "but a little bit of determination brought me back, he he! You're mine now Frisky! So come on, let's go say hi to Mom, ok?"   
  
Chara led Frisk reluctantly into the living room where Toriel was reading her book about snails.   
  
"Please, don't." Frisk whimpered  
  
"Hello, my child. Is there something you-"  
  
"When can I go home?" Chara interrupted.  
  
"What?" Toriel was taken aback. "This is your home now." Chara continued to skip through Toriel's speech.  
  
"How do I leave the ruins?" She pressed.  
  
"Wait here, I-I have to do something" Toriel ran out of the room. But Chara followed her into the basement. She continued to follow her to the very end of the hall, where the entrance to the rest of the underground stood.  
  
Frisk could feel their soul quivering in fear. Was Chara really going to kill Toriel? Her own mother?  
  
"Chara please, don't hurt her. Just leave her alone!" Frisk was sobbing, "You don't have to do this! Please!"  
  
Chara approached Toriel, her look seeming to startle the old woman. She drew the knife.  
  
"Stop!" Frisk sobbed, "Mom! It's me, Frisk! Please talk to me." Chara giggled horrifically.  
  
"Not worth talking to." She replied, before slashing the knife clean through Toriel's chest. Blood stained her elegant gown. Toriel's expression changed horribly. Shocked, terrified. Frisk screamed for their mother.  
  
"MOM!" They sobbed terribly. Toriel cocked her head confused, hurt.  
  
"You-you really hate me that much?" She asked. Suddenly, her expression changed from hurt to cold. "Now I know who I was protecting by keeping you here..." Her eyes widened in a way that sent chills down Frisk's spine. "Not you....but THEM." Them, Frisk thought. The other monsters, the ones who had once been friends of Frisk's. The ones they had once set free, who were next on Chara's hit list. Frisk struggled to move their body, to tear their soul away, anything! But to no avail.  
  
Toriel closed her eyes and laughed coldly. She slowly sunk to her knees, turning to dust. Frisk felt shocked, numb from what they had just witnessed. Toriel...she was...dead? No. No! This couldn't be real! But her dust spread over the floor was proof of it. Chara gave a mocking smile, torturing poor Frisk by walking straight through her scattered remains.  
  
"Too clingy," remarked Chara, with a snarky tone. "Always has been." Frisk was too overcome with grief to even respond to their captor. Their hands felt as if they were shaking. Although Chara's hands were perfectly still, grasping the knife with a sense of pride.  
  
"What have you done?" They whispered, "W-what have I done?" Chara walked down the long, quiet hallway and stepped out into the little room separating the ruins from the underground. Flowey was waiting patiently for them.  
  
"Hmm... You're not even human are you?" He asked, "You're Chara aren't ya?"  
  
"Asriel," Chara said through gritted teeth.  
  
"We're still inseparable after all these years." Flowey paused, something going through his mind. He asked Chara to aid him in the destruction of the underground, a plan to destroy all humans and monsters. "Yes, YES! That's a wonderful idea!" He replied excitedly before disappearing into the ground again.  
  
"No Chara, please, please no more." Frisk begged. But Chara ignored their cries before walking through the door, into the rest of the underground.  
  
  
  
  
Frisk kicked the crisp autumn leaves around. The crunch was somewhat satisfying. They wondered if Toriel or the other monsters remembered the pain Frisk put them through. They seemed to remember Frisk after they abandoned Chara's timeline. Toriel noticed Frisk's look of shock when they saw her again, commenting that they looked like they had seen a ghost. Tears formed in Frisk's eyes. Even if they had stopped Chara's run, the memories of it still burned in their mind. The look of every monster in their last moments of life was there every time they closed their eyes.  
  
"nice jacket," said a voice from behind. Frisk gasped and turned around quickly.   
  
"Sans?" They asked, looking half relieved.  
  
"sup kid? what are you doing out here on your own?"   
  
"I couldn't sleep." They said kicking the grass up.  
  
"yeah, tori's talked to me bout your nightmares." Sans sighed, "you know, frisk, you're still growing and kids like you....." Frisk finished his sentence in their   
  
"Should be burning in hell." Frisk whispered inaudibly. Their hands shook and eyes widened.  
  
"should be getting more sleep, y'know?" He finished, laughing nervously. He heard Frisk's shaky breath.  
"say, kid, you uh sound a little "winded" if you know what i mean?" Sans laughed to himself. Frisk forced a nervous laugh.   
  
"frisk," Sans asked, with genuine concern in his voice. "d-do you wanna talk about it." Frisk shook their head.  
  
"It's hard to explain. You wouldn't understand."  
  
"come on, i'm sure some "old bones" like me can take it." He winked at Frisk playfully. The wind suddenly picked up, sending a chill down Frisk's spine. They shivered uncomfortably.   
  
"hey, why don't we talk back at me and pap's place before you "catch a cold"?" Frisk could swear they heard a rimshot somewhere in the distance.  
  
"I-I just don't know if T-Toriel or Asgore w-would be okay with it." Frisk shivered,  
  
"well i don't cal"cium" anywhere." Sans joked, "come on, i'll make sure she knows you're with me. plus, i thought tori and asgore weren't living together anymore?"  
  
"N-no b-but Asgore still w-worries about me. Almost l-like I'm his own child."   
  
"welp, i'll let them both know you're with me. maybe then we can kick these nightmares to the curb. waddaya say?" Sans took Frisk close to him, trying to keep them warm. Frisk looked up at Sans, but all they could see was darkened eyesockets. The pain of being impaled seemed to come back instantly. Frisk buried their face into his jacket.  
  
"Y-yes. Yes please."


	4. Consequences (Part 4)

Consequences Part 4  
  
Frisk trudged through the leaves behind Sans, hands in the pockets of their big purple hoodie. It was a gift from Sans a little while after reaching the surface. Frisk found it in one of his dresser drawers while helping the skeletons pack. Papyrus claimed it was from Sans' "dreaded purple phase." For some reason, the thought of younger Sans wearing a big purple hoodie seemed funny to them. But it they just seemed overly depressed. Why couldn't they just forget their past run? Why? They stared at the ground as they walked, feeling hopeless.  
  
"hey, you wanna hurry up there before ya "catch a cold" kid?" Sans asked, smiling.  
  
"You already used that one, Sans." Frisk said half-heartedly. Sans turned to face the disheartened child.   
  
"hey, what's the point if you can't reuse your jokes sometimes? don't schools up here teach you kids about recycling?" He smiled again at his own joke, this time with a little less enthusiasm. He could feel the anxiety building in the kid's soul. It was overwhelming. Sans couldn't think of anything else to say, so he simply let the child be as they approach his and Papyrus's house in an awkward silence.  
  
He opened the door he'd left unlocked (because he had felt too lazy to actually lock the door before leaving) and beckoned the child in. Frisk walked up the small steps into the skeletons' new living room. It hardly looked different from their home underground, save a new couch and cleaner looking kitchen. Frisk guessed that Undyne probably hadn't come over for a cooking session with Papyrus yet.   
  
They absentmindedly sat themself on the brothers' new couch and kicked their shoes off. They unwrapped their scarf, holding it close to their face as they lay their head down on its arm. Smelled like bone cologne. Sans took a seat next to the child, unsure of how to approach this conversation.   
  
"so frisk, you uh, wanna talk about what's been bothering you?"  
  
"I don't want to explain anything." Frisk pouted, "I want you to already know everything, like you always do." They lifted their head from the couch. "I want you to tell me how to fix this!" Frustrated tears filled the child's eyes. They paused for a moment, to gain control of themself again. "I'm tired of no one remembering..." They said quietly, "I'm tired of everything being the same...for....."  
  
Sans got the dreaded feeling of timelines jumping back into this conversation. The torture and agony of endless resets, of watching loved ones fall down and die, the depressing feeling of....hopelessness. Not knowing if the human would be merciful or....not. That always did seem to be the problem. He didn't always remember resets, but he had started to write down events of previous ones. Journals unaffected by timeline jumps. In short, it was absolute hell.  
  
Sans was quiet for a while, processing  the idea of going through that again. He finally snapped out of it and began to speak.  
  
"frisk?" He asked cautiously. "i-is this about a previous reset?" He kept his voice down, knowing his little brother was sleeping in the other room. The last thing he needed was for Pap to learn about resets and timelines. The one little bit of hope that kept Sans from falling into complete depression.   
  
Frisk nodded coldly ."You should remember some things. It wasn't a true reset." Frisk said without looking at Sans. Every time they saw his face, genocide nightmares returned.   
  
"kid? did you....hurt someone?" Sans felt fear shoot through Frisk's soul, as if some distant realization had come to them. Frisk shook trying to put the memory out of their mind. Sans' left eye began to glow softly, trying to comfort his friend. He put a boney hand on their shoulder. Frisk tensed up and shuddered. Sans suddenly felt something within their soul. Almost like...another presence?  
  
"I-I'm sorry Sans." They whimpered quietly. The froze for a moment, trying to control themself. However, their attempts failed. The found themself burrowing their face into Sans' jacket and letting out a terrible sob. Surprised, Sans' held them as comfortingly as he could. He felt Frisk's breathing get quick and uncontrollable as their soul was struck with panic. They were hyperventilating.  
  
Papyrus, hearing the human's cries, had rushed from bed and dashed into the living room.    
  
"NYEH? SANS! WHAT IS GOING ON AT THIS HOUR OF THE NIGHT?" Papyrus spotted the panicking human in his brother's arms. He rushed to the rescue. "HUMAN?!" He cried, concerned. He took the child from Sans and cradled them in his arms. "HUMAN! ARE YOU HURT? HAS SOMEONE WOUNDED YOU? WHO HAS DONE THIS? DO NOT WORRY, I THE GREAT PAPYRUS SHALL HEAL YOU." Frisk just found themself crying even harder with Papyrus holding them. They had murdered him in his most vulnerable moment. He only wanted to spare them. He just wanted to be friends. But Chara's determination was stronger than Frisk's. They were a monster, a monster. Frisk clutched onto Papyrus's scarf as if he were going to turn to dust at any moment. "SANS?" He asked concerned, "W-WHAT'S WRONG WITH FRISK?"   
  
"they just had a nightmare." He said, "just a bad dream." Frisk had just resorted to whimpering now. Sans looked at his brother. He looked like he may cry.  He really seemed to care about the kid. "hey, uh pap, why don't you let frisk lay down upstairs for a minute. i'll leave a message for tori, let her know they're here."  
  
"EXCELLENT IDEA BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed his mood changing instantly. "COME LITTLE HUMAN! I THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU!" Frisk threw their arms around his neck and buried their face into his shoulder. They clutched their own Papyrus Scarf™ tightly in their little fist. Papyrus wrapped his arms around the small child, carrying them up to his room. "YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU CAN BE SCARED OR SAD WHILE WEARING THAT COOL SCARF!" Papyrus said, forcing cheerfulness. Frisk tried to giggle but it just came out as another whimpering yelp. Papyrus carried Frisk up to his room, closing the door behind him.   
  
As soon as he heard the door click, Sans collapsed onto the couch. His soul was aching, grieving for the kid. It seemed that Frisk might have accidentally killed someone, heard Sans' judgement, something like that.   
  
But something else was weighing on his chest. It seemed as if Frisk had killed a friend....so had they actually played a pacifist route before killing someone? The idea of Frisk killing a friend made Sans sick to his nonexistent stomach. He needed to talk to them, but they completely broke down at the mention of it. Like they were....no. That's impossible. Sans sighed heavily. He decided to talk to the one person in the world who would understand.  
  
welp," Sans sighed to himself, "i'm going to Grillby's."  
  
  
  
  
  
Papyrus sat in the corner of his room, waiting for the terrified child to fall asleep. He had heroically offered to make Frisk some "nightmare be-gone" spaghetti but they refused to eat without Papyrus eating with them. The Human was so polite. Papyrus often wondered if they still wanted to date him. No, he thought to himself. He couldn't torture poor Frisk with a dream that would never come true. He would be a good and loyal friend, which honestly wasn't very hard for him. The Great Papyrus could not fail at anything! As he had said once before, being friends with everyone is easy!   
  
  
Papyrus had pulled one of his many manuals off of his shelf to read as he waited for Frisk to fall asleep. This one was about cars and the teeny tiny parts that made them work. Sometimes the images would make Papyrus's head ache. It was very confusing how something as small as a single car with one simple purpose could have so much more to it on the inside of it. When Papyrus saw cars, he simply thought of them as a machine used to take you from one place or another. Yet there was so much going on behind the scenes he didn't know about. It seemed capable of so much more. Interesting.    
  
Papyrus noticed after a while that Frisk's breath got very shallow. He walked up to his bed and looked at them. It looked like their eyes were moving under their eyelids. Alphys had talked to him about this before. When humans reached their healing state of sleep, their eyes would move and they would dream. Papyrus had assumed that Frisk had little TV screens in their eyes. From there, they would watch their dreams. Papyrus had presented his ingenious idea to Alphys, but she did not seem impressed. Perhaps the idea was too much for her to comprehend. He understood. Sometimes he was baffled by his own ideas too.  
  
Frisk seemed distressed in their sleep. He worried if they could be having another nightmare. He patted the sleeping child on the head, comfortingly. Frisk, still asleep, suddenly grabbed Pap's hand with a titanium grip and refused to let go. Papyrus seemed surprised. He had a sudden idea. He climbed carefully into his bed and sat next to the tiny human. He felt almost like he needed to guard the child from their night terrors. The Great Papyrus: Nightmare Guardsman. He liked the sound of that.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
It was late, and Grillby always closed up shop at ten. It hadn't taken him long to set up shop in a new surface location. Grillbz was always efficient like that. The complete opposite of Sans. He wondered if his friend would be sleeping down in his cellar at this hour. He quickly teleported into the bar. The lights were still on but Grillbz was nowhere to be seen. Sans gave an irritated sigh. He turned, ready to leave before the creaking of a door sounded off behind him. Sans turned to see his old friend coming into the bar through the fire exit. He seemed irritated.  
  
"hey," Sans called, "you look a little 'steamed.' make sure not to get too 'overheated.'" Grillby turned at the familiar voice. He chuckled.  
  
"Two fire puns in one greeting. It almost seems racist. Take a seat." He said calmly. "The fish and bird were in here earlier, drunk, as usual. The bird continued to 'translate' for me as usual, as I tend to keep mouth shut around him." Grillby set an unopened bottle of ketchup in front of Sans. "Then that over fed water fowl starts to say I'm insulting the customers. I swear I almost incinerated the little parasite."  
  
"but it's good you kept your 'chill'! actually no, that could have killed you." Sans joked  
  
"I should keep a running counter." Grillby said sarcastically. "So did you need something or did you just stop by to throw fire puns at me. Sans froze remembering why he was here he looked down.  
  
"the kid," he said, "they did 3 runs. Two with out killing and in the other they killed someone. they killed a friend. it's really getting to them. they nearly had a heart attack earlier."  
  
"So what's the issue now?" Grillby asked, wiping a cup clean. "PTSD?"  
  
"maybe," sans said slowly, "but there's something else." Grillby looked up now. "i-i think they could have been possessed." Grillby dropped his cup. Sans quickly grabbed it with his magic and placed it back on the counter.   
  
"A possession?" Grillby asked shuddering, "That hasn't happened since the war, not that we know of anyways."  
  
"i felt it grillbz," Sans said seriously. "there was something else that shared their soul. another presence." Grillby looked worried.  
  
"But if Frisk really was possessed then there's a possibility that....."  
  
"they're still there...." Sans looked at the floor. "we don't know for sure but it could be just a matter of time before it tries to take over. powers of save and load....all of it. we need to make sure..." Sans paused, his eyes growing dark. "F r i s k  d o e s n t  h a v e  a  b a d  t i m e."


	5. Consequences (Part 5)

Consequences Part 5  
  
After the barrier was broken, monsters were finally able to go free. It was everything they ever dreamed of. The stars, sun, and moon were like unbelievable Gods to them. It seemed as if everything was finally going right for once. There were some monsters, however, who did not want to leave the underground. A few monsters stayed behind, perhaps as a way to avoid the nostalgia. But one monster avoided the surface at all costs, leaving everything behind. Including his own family.  
  
The lone flower sat grumbling at the entrance of the ruins. He gazed up at the light coming from the peak of the mountain. Something inside Flowey wanted to just go up for a moment to get a healthy amount of sunshine. It had been ages since he'd been up to the surface. But doing that would be admitting defeat to that little punk. Frisk had shown him 'mercy' and 'loved' him. Flowey had almost felt love for them too? No, that was just the souls. Not actually him.   
  
However, there was another feeling inside Flowey. Another emotion that was flooding his system. An emotion so strong he thought he might burst. Boredom.   
  
"UGH!" He cried, "RESET DAMMIT!" There hadn't been a single reset since and Flowey was still stuck as emotionless flora. He didn't even remember what being Asriel again felt like. Sometimes the idea of going back to the surface crossed his mind. It wouldn't be the same timeline. Things could be different. Maybe he could see his parents again and they could make him feel something this time. It didn't work last time but.... "UGH!" he bellowed again falling onto the ground looking up at the light from the top of the mountain. After a long period of meditation and self-pitying, Flowey finally decided on "just a minute" on the surface.  
  
He burrowed up to the little village near mount Ebott where most of the underground's monsters resided. Little monster children ran around in the sun, bounding and happy.  
  
"Disgusting." Flowey thought to himself. "What was I thinking coming up here." Suddenly, Flowey felt something poking at his petals. He turned irritated towards a little human child with curly reddish hair. She was poking at his petals like he was some little animal or something.   
  
"What do I look like to you? A frigging petting zoo? SCRAM!" He yelled at the little girl. She squeaked, unsure of what to think of the talking flower. Instead of running, she crept closer, squatting down on the flowers level.  
  
"You're pretty!" The little girl squeaked in awe. "I've never seen a flower like you before."   
  
"Yeah? Well get any closer and I'll make sure you never will again!" Flowey threatened the little girl, yet she didn't seem to understand his threat. She sat down next to her new friend and admired him. "What the heck are you doing? Leave!"   
  
The little girl giggled when Flowey morphed his face.   
  
"I like flowers." She said. "But you're special! You can talk! Mommy always told me that flowers couldn't talk." Flowey wasn't quite sure how to respond.  
  
"Yeah, and I can say this too!" He started blabbing out a series of monster and human swears and curses, enough to make him eat at least 10 bars of soap.  
  
"My brother said something like that once and my daddy spanked him." The girl said naively. "My name's Eden." She said beaming, "Eden Brooky!" Flowey looked up at her stifling a snarky laugh.  
  
"What a stupid name!" He laughed sarcastically, "And I thought Flowey was bad! You should really try to get that changed!" He tried to be as rude as he possibly could.  
  
Eden stood up and folded her arms, pouting.   
  
"You're a mean flower." She said grumbling, "Flowey's the dumb name. I have a pretty name and my mommy told me so."  
  
"Well why don't you go whine to your mommy and leave me the hell alone? Huh? How does that sound?" Eden's face suddenly changed. Almost like she just realized something. Her face fell sadly.  
  
" I'm sorry." She said quietly.  
  
"What?" Flowey was taken aback for a moment.  
  
"My mommy said that I shouldn't be mean to people. But I said that your name was dumb. That wasn't nice of me." Her eyes started to tear up. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."   
  
"W-whatever" Flowey said, feeling embarrassed. "Can you just leave or something?" Eden nodded her head sadly and ran off in the opposite direction.  
  
"What the hell?" Flowey thought to himself. What had just happened?  
  
"you know you could at least try to act like you have a soul." A voice from behind sounded. Flowey shrank back when he saw the familiar face. "then again, if you even tried 'laven-her' a little bit, your heart would probably burst." Flowey growled at the skeleton's bad flower puns, knowing it wouldn't be the last. "you know that the boss monsters won't be too happy with you 'poppy'-ing up here after what you did too us at the barrier."  
  
"How long have you been watching, Smiley Trashbag?" He growled.  
  
"orchidding me?" He smiled smugly at his own pun. "as soon as i felt your soulless vessel on the surface, i couldn't afford to 'leaf' you alone. the humans you know, if 'dai-see' you at the wrong time-"  
  
"SHADDAP!" Flowey yelled. The power of the puns was becoming too much for him.  
  
"alright," Sans said, backing off. "'iris' my case. but i'm warning ya, i've got my eyesocket on ya." He said, closing his right eye in a wink. He turned and began walking toward the village. He stopped for a minute and looked over his left shoulder.   
  
"oh yeah, flower." He paused for a moment, eye sockets growing dark. "D o n t   t h i n k   I v e    f o r g o t t e n   a b o u t     a l l   Y O U R   r e s e t s." Flowey froze. He blinked and the skeleton had disappeared.   
  
The flower's breath turned shaky and he looked down at his trembling leaves.  
  
He remembered.  
  
  
  
  
  
When Sans returned home that night, he found his brother and Frisk curled up, asleep in Pap's bed. Papyrus seemed to be...shielding? the human. Frisk was grasping Pap's scarf in one hand and using the one he had given them as a present. There was also the little white dog laying on Pap. Frisk had named him Toby for some reason. Mettaton said it sounded sexy though. Sans chuckled to himself. But the cute scene wasn't enough to completely rid Sans of his anxiety.   
  
He quietly shut his brother's door. He grabbed a bottle of ketchup from the kitchen cabinet and stumbled onto the couch with the dusty old book Grillbz had given him.   
  
_"Sans, know that if your hunch is correct, this could prove quite maliciously for your young human."  
  
"trust me grillbz, I wouldn't have come to you i didn't think this wasn't urgent. Grillby nodded solemnly.  
  
"Come with me." Grillby beckoned Sans outside, to the cellar. He watched as his friend approached a large, old-looking bookshelf. He pulled a dusty, ancient looking book from one of the shelves and handed him the book.  
  
"what is this for?" Sans asked, confused.  
  
"Before we take any action, I want you to diagnose Frisk. There are several things that could be happening to them and we need to make sure we know the exact thing we're dealing with."  
  
Sans nodded sadly, understanding what his friend wanted. Grilby put his hand on Sans' shoulder.  
  
"Frisk will be alright Sans, they have you to keep them safe." Grillby smiled warmly.   
  
"thanks grillbz." Sans said before teleporting out of the shop._  
  
  
Sans looked at the book with a green, leather cover. There was a picture of several different colored souls on it.  
  
  
 ** THE NATURE OF SOULS  
**  
"well, i was never really into reading but i guess i only have my 'shelf' to blame." He started:  
  
      **WHAT IS A SOUL?  
A soul is often defined as the culmination of a monster or human's being. It is what holds the emotional or other aspects of a monsters' spirit.  
**  
He skipped ahead to a different section of the book.  
  
                                                                              **SOUL MANIPULATION  
There are different methods for controlling something's soul. However, many of these require years of training and only have limited effects. Certain magic can hold a soul in place for a desired amount of time to keep its owner from escaping. (see Green Soul Magic) Other methods can manipulate the gravity surrounding the soul, causing difficulty dodging certain attacks. (see Blue Soul Magic) However, there is a rare form of soul manipulation which can give someone complete control over a soul. This, however, only happens in cases when the soul of a deceased retains its form outside of the body for a lasting period of time. Normally, this happens in humans (and in some rare cases, monsters) with abnormally large amounts of Determination (see Human Determination). In this state, the disembodied soul wanders looking for a host and often finds shelter in vulnerable creatures stuck in the void. Though the new combined soul fights for control, the more determined one is able to weaken the owner enough to take control of the body. The owner's soul is painfully cast into a conscience void in which it can still see from the perspective of their bodies, but have little to no control over it. If, however, the owner is put through enough emotional, or physical stress, they can take back control if they enter a void again, tearing their damaged soul away from their possessor. This process is extremely painful and few live through it. Any who come out alive have tears and cracks on their soul which often cannot be repaired. If however, the timeline is altered,  as human determination can often do, the soul can be repaired but scars will still be visible. However, sometimes a remnant of the parasite soul can still latch on. The common symptoms of post soul possession are strange behavior, hemorrhaging, blackouts, long periods of lost time........**   
  
Sans stopped reading.  
  
He couldn't.  
  
He just couldn't think about it anymore.  
  
Frisk was just a little kid. They weren't possessed by anything. They weren't forced to do anything. They probably hurt some little Froggit by accident. He was crazy for even thinking that. Why would he ever think about Frisk being in that kind of hell? The thought of Frisk being in that position, forced to watch as countless friends died, it made Sans sick.  
  
He slammed the book shut and threw it to the ground. He slumped over in the couch and picked up his bottle. He just drank and drank and kept drinking. He was drinking away all the pain until finally, he passed out.  
  
  
  
From the depths of Sans' soul, a voice called out to him.  
  
 __  
"No, n-no, Sans..." The voice cried brokenly. It was distorted terribly. "I didn't want this. I-I just want things to go back... Back to the way they were before...I-I'm sorry m-my friend."  
  
"who are you?" He called out, "are you okay?" Sans felt panic deep within him.  
  
"Please!!!! Please!! HELP ME! STOP IT!!!" A different voice was screaming in pain from the other direction. It sounded familiar. Its soul had the same magnitude as someone who had a friend or relative fall down.    
  
"Let me go!!" The first voice sounded again. Sans was feeling torn, unsure of which voice to run to. The first voice suddenly let out a sharp gasp. "No! No no no! Not him please! Please don't! I'll do anything please!"  
  
The second voice let out a bloodcurdling scream of pain. "BROTHER!"  
  
Then, suddenly without warning, both voices sounded at the same time.   
  
"PAPYRUS!"  
  
  
  
Sans woke up, sweating profusely. He turned to see golden sunlight shining through the living room window. His head was aching terribly.   
  
"what the hell kind of a dream was that? He wondered to himself. "i really ought to not drink before bed." He laughed as he rubbed his head. Yet something about that dream still made him feel uneasy. He looked down to see that he had a blanket wrapped around him. It seemed someone had tucked him in. He turned his head to see Pap in the kitchen, making breakfast.  
  
"AH! GOOD MORNING BROTHER!" He said cheerfully. "HOW WAS YOUR NIGHT'S SLEEP? MINE WAS FINE ASIDE FROM THAT PESKY DOG I FOUND IN MY ROOM. I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW IT GOT IN." Papyrus gave a troubled, and slightly irritated look. But it passed quickly, "THOUGHT I'D WAKE YOU UP BUT YOU SEEMED QUITE PEACEFUL!" His brother was beaming, as always.  
  
"thanks, bro." He replied shakily. "say, where's the kid at?" He asked realizing that Frisk was nowhere to be seen.  
  
"THEY WENT BACK TO LADY ASGORE'S HOUSE. SHE WAS QUITE FRANTIC WHEN SHE FOUND THAT THE HUMAN WAS NOT IN BED. I REASSURED HER THAT YOU SENT A TEXT TO CLEAR EVERYTHING UP." A look of confusion suddenly appeared on Pap's face. "THOUGH IT SEEMED IT WAS THE FIRST SHE HAD HEARD OF IT!"  
  
Sans froze realizing that he had forgotten to text Toriel about Frisk. He fumbled for his phone. It had been off since dinner yesterday. His lock screen was overloaded with texts and missed calls from Tori. The messages had gotten more and more frantic until she was typing in illegible uppercase text. Sans cringed as he read through the messages  
  
10:10- Sans, it is Toriel. I went to check on Frisk and they were gone. Are they with you?  
  
10:12- Sans, if this is a joke, I do not find it very humorous.   
  
10:13- PS That was not met as a pun, you are not permitted to laugh.  
  
10:14- PS *meant* not met  
  
10:32- I've looked around the village and Frisk is not here. If they are with you, let me know this instant.  
  
Sans scrolled through a few more messages.  
  
10:56- SANS I AM CALLING TH POLICE this INSTANT  
  
10:78- Ogod where are TheY?  
  
10:89- Sand ANSWre me  
  
10:167- I'm not faeling well!  
  
10:66666- Sans I cat breathe!!  
  
??????- SMS ERROR: THE FOLLOWING PHONE HAS PROBABLY BEEN DESTROYED IN A PANIC ATTACK OR FIT OF WORRY. EITHER WAY, YOU'RE SCREWED BUDDY.  
  
Sans put down his phone in shock and horror. Thousands of things were racing through his mind but it all came down to one though.  
  
"toriel's gonna kill me." Sans said under his breath. "she's actually gonna kill me."           


	6. Consequences (Part 6)

Consequences Part 6  
  
  
After a seemingly eternal lecture about leaving the house without permission, and a long string of hugs (which they didn't mind as much) Toriel finally let Frisk go outside and play. Their sleepover with the skelebros had been seemingly refreshing after Frisk's nightmare. But Frisk knew that Sans wasn't dumb. He could often figure out what they were hiding, what they were thinking. They still feared that Sans would want to talk about what happened. Though Frisk barely remembered what happened during their panic attack.   
  
It hurt. It felt like all of their breath had been taken from them and the weight of every sin had come crawling up their back and down their spine. They couldn't breathe and for a moment, everything felt completely hopeless. Like every bit of anxiety they ever had was crashing down on them at once.  
  
Frisk put their pain out of their mind for a minute and tried to enjoy the outside world. For the small child, it was not difficult to find almost everything amazing outside. They found themself giggling happily as they ran through the village. They found Monster Kid examining a seemingly ordinary rock.   
  
"Hey!" They cried running toward him. He turned toward Frisk, his face beaming.  
  
"Yo! Frisk!" He exclaimed, struggling to get on his feet before running to them. Frisk hugged him tight. Monster Kid put his head in Frisk's neck.   
  
"Dude! I haven't seen you since the barrier broke! Where have ya been?"  
  
"I-I haven't felt very well." Frisk said letting their friend go. "I don't know," they said, rubbing their head. "It must have been m-my last fight or-or something."  
  
"Yo! No worries!" He said nonchalantly. "I mean if I had just fought the dude that Undyne couldn't defeat, man I would want to stay home too!" He smiled brightly.   
  
Frisk and their friend walked around the village for about an hour, chatting and catching up about the past couple of weeks. The monster kid suddenly heard Frisk stop and gasp.   
  
"Woah dude are you okay?" He asked, a look of concerned horror passed over his face.   
  
"A-as?" Frisk choked on their own words. They suddenly took off running faster then monster kid could keep up (not having any arms he was constantly falling)  
  
"Asriel!" Frisk called out, tears were forming in their eyes. "Asriel!" The little golden flower turned his head in surprise. He watched as Frisk tripped on a branch, landing with a hard thud. He snickered, watching them fall, before they began crawling their way towards him. He was greeted by a tight and unwelcome hug from the small child. Flowey choked with Frisk holding his stem so tightly.   
  
"Get OFF!" He yelled, wriggling his way out of the uncomfortable grasp. "And don't call me Asriel. I'm not him anymore...not really." He said under his breath. "Plus someone might hear you, ya idiot." He growled. As Frisk was standing up, the monster kid came running up to them. He tripped and flew right into Frisk, knocking them over again. The two fell right on top of Flowey, who burrowed behind them just in time. The monster kid and Frisk started giggling uncontrollably they looked back at Flowey, who was obviously pissed off.  
  
"Yo!" Said the kid, "I know you! You're that flower dude from the underground! I was wondering when you'd show up again."  
  
"Yeah Flowey!" Frisk said, getting up. "When did you get here? I thought you weren't gonna come to the surface." Flowey gave a snide look.  
  
"Oh I was soooo lonely down there." He said mockingly, "I just came yesterday morning and you wouldn't believe the friend who came to visit me. Smiley Trashbag!" Frisk gave a look of surprise.  
  
"You saw Sans yesterday?" They asked, "He didn't tell me." They sounded confused.  
  
"Well he didn't sound happy to see me." He said rolling his eyes. Frisk giggled.  
  
"Well I'm happy!" They said beaming, "Are you planning to stay here?" They asked  
  
"I mean I guess so." He said rubbing the back of his head. "I don't have anywhere else to stay."  
  
"Well, have you found a place to stay?" They asked sounding concerned.  
  
"Yeah!" Flowey said with mock cheerfulness in his voice. "The ground!" Frisk gave Flowey a worried look.  
  
"W-what? You can't sleep outside! It's almost winter!"  
  
"Have you seen me lately?" Flowey asked sarcastically. "I'm a frigging flower!" Frisk blushed, feeling embarrassed.  
  
"Dude, not even flowers can live in the winter." The monster kid perked up. He looked at Frisk. "Yo! My parents don't want us to have to have pets, but maybe he could live with you!" Frisk's face lit up at the prospect of having Flowey live with them. They looked up to see the flower grimacing.   
  
"Well Flowey?" Frisk asked with their eyes shining, "You can come have a home with me and Tor-" they stopped, realizing what they were about to say. Flowey faced the ground with an illegible expression' "I-I'm sorry. I forgot that you-"  
  
"No," Flowey said coldly. "I don't care. It's not like I even can." Frisk looked shaken up. "Sure," he suddenly said coolly. "I'll go home with you. Not sure your Mom will be okay with it though, seeing as I tried to kill everyone." Frisk's expression changed to one containing high levels of determination. They folded they arms and took a deep breath   
  
"No Flowey!" They said, a fierce glow in their eyes. "You're coming home with me right now! We're going to go together and eat Mom's pie an-"  
  
"She's making pie?" Flowey asked. Suddenly, his mood seemed to change.  
  
"Yup!" They said beaming, still with a determined look. "And YOU'RE gonna get some tonight!"   
  
"Yo! I wish I could go but my mom wanted me back by now." Said the little monster kid." He started running back in the opposite direction, "See ya Frisk!" He turned, tripping over his own feet and landing face-first into the ground. Frisk gasped and cringed, but he shook it off and continued running home. Flowey rolled his eyes.  
  
"Derpy kid," he said derogatorily but Frisk didn't seem notice. They were deep in thought about what to do with Flowey.   
  
"We don't have dirt in our house..." They said out loud to themself. "So how will you get around?" Flowey looked sarcastically at Frisk once again.  
  
"Why don't you carry me in a freaking-" He stopped himself, a horrific wave of realization coming over him. But it was too late. Frisk gave a slightly mischievous grin.  
  
"No." Flowey said sternly, "No, NO you will NOT!" His face began to morph melting into his horrible smile.  
  
"Come on Flowey!" Said Frisk, "I have one in the shed!" Flowey folded his stems.   
  
"No," he pouted, "I am not getting into one of those."    
  
"It isn't that bad!" Frisk pleaded.  
  
"Yeah? How would you know?" Frisk stared sternly into Flowey's eyes. Flowey stared back at Frisk. Neither one dared to look away  
  
....  
  
..........  
  
.............  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Until Frisk burst out with laughter.  
  
"Ha! I win!!" Flowey yelled. He triumphantly threw his head back and laughed smugly. But for some reason, Frisk smiled at Flowey mischievously.  
  
"Fine!" They said smiling, "I guess that means I have to go get it by myself!"  
  
"What?" He yelled, "No! I won and I say no flo-" but Frisk had already taken off.  
  
"DON'T GO ANYWHERE FLOWEY!" They yelled, running to the village. Flowey thought about burrowing away from the village and from Frisk. But there was a tiny part of him that kept him there. Perhaps that same part that wanted to come to the surface. The same part that wanted to be in a family again. The one that wanted butterscotch pie?   
  
.......  
  
  
No.   
  
  
All of Flowey wanted butterscotch pie.   
  
  
But still, there was something more than a craving for his Mom's pie that kept him from running away. A familiar voice from long ago. The voice of a suffering child who wanted to go home after years of abandonment.  
  
"SHUT UP TINY VOICE!" Flowey yelled, frustrated. "Go bother someone else and stop making me feel bad! I can't even feel so how the hell are you doing that??" A confused yelp came from behind. Flowey turned to see a small, white, puppy standing behind him.  
  
"UGH!" Flowey sighed, the incident with the little girl yesterday coming back to him. "Not this again." He stared the dog down, looking him in the beady eyes. "SCRAM!" He said sternly. The puppy cocked its head to the side. And then got down on its front paws, it's tail wagging happily. Flowey morphed his face into an evil smile.  
  
"I'LL KILL EVERYONE YOU LOVE." He hissed. The puppy, obviously not understanding the connotation of Flowey's threat, jumped up and happily started prancing around the flower. Frustrated, Flowey summoned a line of bullets around the dog and struck it with full force. The puppy grew stagnant for a moment. It seemed that the whole world has gone completely silent.  
  
  
-1HP  
  
"What the????" Flowey yelped confused. That was one of his more powerful attacks! How did that dog lose ONE HP?The puppy, needless to say, was not happy with this latest betrayal. A low, menacing growl rose in the its throat. Flowey realized his fatal mistake, and quickly burrowed a few yards behind the dog. Somehow, he seemed to know where he was ANYWAYS. The puppy charged towards Flowey with full speed, growling ferociously.   
  
Flowey cried out, now in fear of his life. The dog had arrived so quickly. Like it knew Flowey was going to appear behind him. He burrowed as far away from the dog as possible, into the little monster village.   
  
The puppy was nowhere to be seen, much to the relief of Flowey. When he turned around, however, the dog was RIGHT behind him. Flowey screeched and continued to burrow around the area of the village. Somehow, the dog always caught up to him. He finally burrowed into a tiny hole under a tree trunk. The dog barked at the tree ferociously. Flowey, feeling scared senseless, continued to shoot tiny pellets at the puppy. These seemed to effect the dog even less, save making it even more angry.   
  
Flowey, feeling helpless started crying out for help.  
  
.......  
  
But nobody-  
  
"TOBY!" A little voice cried out. "NO! Down, boy!" The little dog stopped barking  and bounded over to the voice excitedly. Flowey peaked through his tree hole to see Frisk, petting the little dog, who was slobbering all over them. "Yes, boy, I love you too. Now go home and leave Flowey alone." Th dog whimpered, turning towards Flowey and growling. "Toby, no." Frisk said calmly with a strict tone. "Go home." The little dog, pouting, bounded slowly home. It looked back at Frisk, who gave a threatening glance. The dog, then decided it was in his best interest to run.   
  
Frisk walked up to the hole where flowey had been hiding. They looked at him with a know-it-all glance.   
  
"Are you SURE you would rather stay out here?" They asked. Flowey burrowed out of the hole in front of Frisk. He still looked pitiful and terrified. He looked up to see Frisk holding a little flower pot and shovel. Flowey looked at it with disgust at first but finally agreed to be planted in it. Frisk knelt down on Flowey's level and began digging around his roots.  
  
"OW!" Flowey exclaimed, "That's my roots!"  
  
"Sorry, Flowey." Frisk said frowning, "Most flowers I garden don't complain so much."    
They dug Flowey out from the ground and carefully placed him in the pot. They giggled at their work. Flowey looked so cute in the little pot. Flowey blushed, embarrassed.  
  
"Shut up," he muttered.  
  
"Don't worry Flowey," they chuckled. "You look cute!"  
  
"That's what I was worried about." He grumbled.  
  
  
  
  
"Sans! I swear! YOU BONEHEADED, LAZY, DRUNK, IRRESPONSIBLE, SON OF A GLITCH!   
  
"yeah, you've got no idea." Sans muttered to himself   
  
"Do you know how long I worried????? I cannot even believe how irresponsible you were!" Toriel was so angry, fireballs surrounded her, so that sometimes if she was angry enough, Sans needed to deflect one with a bone.  
  
"woah, tori! don't get so 'fired up' just 'chill' alright?" Toriel ignored Sans' bad puns.  
  
"You are a bastard Sans! A lazy, stuck up, self absorbed, ignorant, bastard!!"  
  
"tori! just listen to me for a second okay?" Sans was extremely concerned with Toriel's mouth. "i think there's something seriously wrong with frisk. not just the nightmares alright!" Sans dodged another fireball that flew straight into the window.  
  
"DON'T you even TRY to act like you care about my child right now! For all I knew they could have been killed! Papyrus told me you were going to send a message but I got no such thing!"  
  
"i forgot, tori! there was something really important that i had to-"  
  
"More important than my child's safety???"  
  
"they were safe!"  
  
"Well I didn't know that!" Toriel and Sans were now staring each other down, magic at the ready with flames growing in both of their eyes.  
  
"Sans you bastard! I am going to-"  
  
"M-mom?" Squeaked a voice from behind. Toriel turned to see Frisk staring at her, a worried expression crossing their face. Toriel lowered her flames. Sans retracted his magic too, feeling embarrassed.   
  
"Oh Frisk!" She cried, holding her small child closely, "I didn't mean for you to see that! Sans and I were just having a small disagreement. Do not worry my child."  
  
"You looked like you wanted to hurt Sans." They said quietly. "It's not his fault I snuck out last night."  
  
"nah, kid. don't blame your 'cell' f. i'm the one that left my phone off like a big 'bonehead'." Toriel stifled an angry snicker.  
  
"A-are you sure?" Frisk asked quietly.  
  
"yeah! 'tibia-honest' we're both just worried about you kid." Frisk giggled softly. They looked up at their mother.  
  
"Can I go play in my room now?" They asked.   
  
"Of course you can, my child." Toriel said warmly, "You have done nothing wrong." Frisk smiled brightly and bounded off toward their room. Toriel waited for the sound of a door closing before turning towards Sans.  
  
"so," he said awkwardly, "let's just say i'm lazy and you're overprotective and leave it at that huh? call it even?" Toriel glared at the small skeleton.  
  
"Sans..." She growled intimidatingly.  
  
  
  
  
  
Frisk shut their door and sighed nervously. Sneaking out seemed to have caused a lot of trouble between Sans and their mom. But thankfully, they hadn't been caught. Frisk bounded over to their window and opened it up.  
  
"Took ya long enough." Said a snarky voice from under the window. Frisk picked Flowey up from under the windowsill and placed him on the nightstand.   
  
Flowey looked around Frisk's room. There was a painful pang of nostalgia he felt where his soul should have been. The dresser was the one he and Chara had once shared. The box of dusty old toys, it almost made him laugh. They never really played with them much.  
  
The bed....  
  
It was Chara's. The same bed where Flowey...no Asriel, had once begged Chara to come back to him. Right before she died. The emotions Flowey felt, they weren't normal emotions. They weren't sad or nostalgic. They were just strange. Like that same tiny voice from earlier was trying to feel, but the soulless vessel was preventing them from it.  
  
"Flowey?" Asked Frisk. "Are you okay?" Flowey snapped back into reality.   
  
"What? Oh yeah I'm just-I mean-" he stuttered terribly. "Cool room I guess." His face grew slightly hot. "Uh, where's the pie?" He asked impatiently, changing the subject. "That's why I came here isn't it?" Frisk gave Flowey an odd look.  
  
"I could smell it in the oven when I got in. Mom and Sans were fighting so I don't know how long it's been in there."  
  
"Well tell her to hurry up okay? I haven't had her pie in over a millennia. Well, in another reset I did...but that timeline never really happened." Frisk snickered.  
  
"Okay Flowey," they giggled, "I'll go check." They exited the room, leaving Flowey to himself. The odd pangs kept coming back, much to the discontentment of Flowey.  
  
"Ugh," he sighed to himself. "Come on Asriel." He whispered, "What do you want me to do? Please, just leave me alone.  
  
  
Okay?


	7. Consequences (Part 7)

Consequences Part 7  
  
  
  
Frisk stumbled into the living room where they found Toriel and Sans curled up on the couch eating pie. Toriel was reading a book. Sans was asleep. It seemed as if they had made up rather quickly. Suddenly, Toriel looked up from her book to see Frisk sneaking into the kitchen.  
  
"Frisk!" She called out. Frisk spun around. "There is no need to sneak around my child. I have a slice of pie waiting for you on the kitchen table." Frisk blushed with embarrassment. They quickly thought up a good lie on the spot.  
  
"Sorry mom," they said quietly, "I was worried you and Sans would still be angry." Toriel frowned at Frisk, somewhat embarrassed from behind caught by their child.   
  
"Frisk, you know that we were not angry at you, right?"  
  
"I guess so." Frisk muttered, trying to keep Toriel from figuring out their lie. Toriel stood up, got on one knee and hugged Frisk tightly. Somehow, that always made them feel better. Toriel stood up and patted her child on the head.   
  
"Now, you may take your pie to your room if you'd like." Frisk nodded excitedly. They took the pie from the table and turned toward their room, before giving Toriel a big smile, and closing the door behind them. Toriel laughed to herself.   
  
"Silly child," she laughed.  
  
  
  
Frisk carefully carried the pie into their room and shut the door behind them. They set the steaming pie in front of Flowey, who's eyes lit up at the sight of it. (They had a strangely low appetite that day) He grabbed the fork and shoved a piece of the pie into his mouth. He coughed, the pie burning his throat. Frisk chucked nervously.  
  
"You may want to wait for it to cool down first." They suggested, sitting down on their bed next to him.   
  
"Are you kidding me!" Flowey said, shoving more into his burning mouth. "I haven't had pie like this in forever! I'm not waiting for anything! NOT EVEN IF IT BURNS MY ESOPHAGUS!"  
  
"Ok! Ok!" Frisk whispered loudly, making a forceful hand gesture. "Just be quiet, okay? Someone could hear you."   
  
"Yeah?" He asked with his mouth full. "So what? Best case, Mom gives us more pie. Worst case, you reset."  
  
"No, Flowey! We can't reset. Sans is here too." They whispered. Flowey froze mid-chew.   
  
"What the hell is Smiley Trashbag doing here?" He whispered, panicked.  
  
"I-it's kinda a long story." Frisk said ,embarrassed, rubbing their head. "But if you just stay quiet we'll be fine." So Frisk and Flowey silently sat in the room for a while, Flowey continuing to eat the massive piece of pie. Frisk wondered what happened when a flower ate actual food. They mostly eat sunshine don't they? Flowey didn't appear to have a stomach. Frisk decided it would be in everyone's best interest to just let him be and ask later. Frisk let their mind wander for a while before coming upon the all too familiar reset memories. Frisk's face fell.  
  
Flowey noticed Frisk looked somewhat crestfallen and he snickered.   
  
"I don't care how sad you look." He smirked, "I'm not giving you any pie." Frisk said nothing. Flowey raised an eyebrow (though he did not have eyebrows he made the facial expression of someone who's eyebrow was raised) "You can go get pie if you want it, you little brat. I'll wait. Just quit pouting, alright? Geez." Frisk continued to ignore him. Flowey looked gown nervously, "This-this isn't about pie is it?" Frisk opened their eyes, still facing the floor.  
  
"I tried to ask Mom earlier but-" they clenched their fists. "Can you tell me about Chara?" They asked. Flowey gave Frisk an illegible expression.  
  
"Didn't I tell you enough at the entrance of the ruins?" He asked coldly. "I made sure you found Alphys' lab too. Didn't you watch the tapes?" Flowey paused, his voice changing, "Or during your Genocide run when I told you the story?"   
  
Frisk lifted their head, facing the wall. The They had a feeling he remembered. He always remembered. Frisk remembered Flowey's words when they reset after tearing their soul from Chara.  
 _  
"Really, Chara? Well, do what you will."  
  
Then after the barrier was broken, he criticized them for quitting. He accused them of only saving everyone so they could see how much they were taking from this world.  
_  
  
"So?" Frisk said quietly, "You do remember what happened don't you?" They asked, "It wasn't a true reset so...." Flowey saw tears of anger forming in their eyes. "You kept calling me Chara. It wasn't just Chara in that body, Flowey. I was there too. I had already made it through the underground, but.....I wanted to save YOU, Asriel. And that's when she took over...." Tears were falling down their face. "I need to know Asriel. I need to know why she did it! Why she hurt them!" Frisk muffled their scream of frustration into a pillow. It turned quickly into anguished sobbing. The tiny voice inside Flowey was begging him to do something, to comfort Frisk. But he couldn't feel any sympathy in his heart. He paused for a moment, trying to think of what he could say, if he really wanted to say anything.  
  
  
  
"Chara and I used to go sit in an area near Waterfall and stare at the castle from a distance." He said quietly, "I used to think that the view was breathtaking." Flowey paused, unsure of what he was feeling. "When I first found Chara, she was crying terribly. She had fallen down from the surface and was screaming for help." He chuckled lightly, "She looked like a big mess. At first, I thought it was because she was so badly injured. Her leg was bent in the wrong direction." Frisk looked up, face stained with tears. "I found out later that wasn't the case." Flowey looked at Frisk, smiling sadly. "I told you she didn't climb the mountain for a very happy reason."  
  
"She wanted to....." Frisk began, "She wanted to disappear. S-she wanted t-to-"  
  
"Die." Flowey finished sturdily, "You know Frisk, since I became a flower, the only time I felt actual emotion was when I thought Chara was back. I felt...happy again. But Chara...she changed after she died. She never would have hurt that many people. Actually, before you reset I thought she might actually have killed me." Flowey chuckled nervously. "Whoever that was.....WHATEVER that was.... wasn't my Chara." Flowey's expression was blank.  
  
"W-why did Chara hate humanity so much, Flowey? Why did she have to kill everyone, have to get to the surface, to destroy them?" Frisk was trembling now, but had stopped crying.  
  
"She had been hurt, abused by people on the surface. I remember when she showed me the scars on her back, as we sat by the castle." Flowey shuddered slightly. "I was so afraid for her. Chara told me that she was disgusted to be apart of that race." Flowey paused again, clenching his leaves. "That's when she told me that when I found her, she was screaming because her suicide attempt had failed." Flowey looked back at Frisk warmly, "The real Chara wasn't bad. She was just hurt. But this Chara isn't the same. She wants to kill."  
  
"I still have nightmares about it." Frisk said quietly. "It's my family. And I watched them ALL die." It was at that point Flowey realized it wasn't him telling the story. It was Asriel. Asriel was the only one with that much compassion. It seemed as if all the love he had felt in that moment was gone, and he was back to being unable to care.  
  
"Well at least you have YOUR family back." He said coldly, "My best friend is dead and my family thinks I'm evil so...." Even Flowey didn't understand why he said what he did next. "I don't know why you're complaining." Frisk looked at him confused.  
  
"W-why? Why would you say something like that?" They asked, "Why? All I ever did was care about you!" They felt angry now. Why would Flowey open up to them only to criticize them a minute later?  
  
"Listen kid, I can't care about anyone, remember? I don't have a freaking soul anymore! The last time I absorbed souls, I could actually feel but they weren't MY souls Frisk! I gave them back like a good monster and now I'm back to this." He slumped up against the wall. "A soulless, emotionless flower."   
  
"Flowey!" Frisk cried, "can't you at least ACT like you care!" Sans' words suddenly echoed in Flowey's head.   
  
_"you know, you could at least act like you have a soul."  
_  
Flowey cringed thinking about the smaller skeleton.    
  
"Flowey!" They yelled getting his attention.  
  
"W-what?" He asked waking from his flashback. Frisk sighed, throwing their hands in the air angrily.  
  
"FINE! Don't act like you care! Don't do anything!!!" They ran out of the room slamming the door.  
  
"Frisk!" Flowey called out. But he realized that there was nothing he could say. He didn't feel sorry. He had no words of encouragement. He didn't even know why he called them. Little did he know it wasn't him who called.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Mom." Frisk demanded coldly. Toriel was napping on the couch, but Sans was gone. Frisk needed to see him. "Mom!" They said louder. Toriel snorted awake. She rubbed her tired eyes and pushed her reading glasses back into place. She looked groggily up at Frisk.  
  
"Y-yes my child?" She asked yawning, "is there something you need?"  
  
"Where is Sans?" They demanded coldly. They suddenly felt a terrifying pang in their soul as they realized something from a distant memory. They sounded like Chara, right before she killed Toriel; their cold, emotionless demands. A small gasp escaped from Frisk's mouth. It was enough to be detected by Toriel's mother radars, but not enough to worry the tired monster.  
  
"He left a few minutes after you went to your room. Why? What's wrong?"  
  
"Nothing!" They said, a little too quickly. "I wanted to tell him something, that's all."  
  
"Well he left about 30 minutes ago, so he should be home by now. You may stop by their house if you wish."  
  
"Really? Thanks Mom!" They hugged Toriel tightly before running up to the door. As they gripped the doorknob, Toriel called out to them.  
  
"Frisk?" She asked.   
  
"Yeah Mom?"  
  
"Are you sure you're feeling well? You have not acted like yourself these past few days. And you felt a little bit warm a moment ago." Frisk gave a weak smile. To be honest with themself, Frisk was feeling a bit feverish but there was a more pressing matter at hand. They opened up the door and looked at Toriel.   
  
"Mom, you worry too much!" They laughed before rushing out the door to find Sans.  
  
  
  
  
  
Sans was resting up against an old oak tree 1/4 mile from his house. He thought about walking the rest of the way but seemingly gave up while he was 5 minutes away.   
  
"not worth it." He though to himself.   
  
He sat against the tree watching the children play. Some human, some monster. Sans had never been on the surface this long before. Part of him expected Frisk to reset, to wake up in a snow laden house. Yet he always woke up in a bed, made by his brother, sun shining through the window. Frisk had seemed to look up to him. Almost like.....a father?   
  
Either way, it seemed impossible for Frisk to willingly hurt someone. And possession....the thought kept making him sick. He remembered the screams from his dream last night. Could they have been Frisk's? Sans often dreamed about other timelines. Yet it was always very confusing for him when he woke up.   
  
Sans looked up to see the tiny child running on the road beside him.  
  
"well!" He said loudly, catching Frisk's attention. "speak of the devil." Frisk pivoted on one foot and turned around at the sound of Sans' voice.  
  
"Sans!" They cried running to the skeleton.  "A-are you ok?"  
  
"yeah i'm fine." He grunted struggling to get up. Frisk offered their hand and he took it. "just lazy. care to walk me home kid?" Frisk nodded and the two started back on the road towards the skeleton's house.   
  
"hey kid are you feeling alright? you look a little "sick" of something right now."  
  
"Probably a fever or something but that isn't important right now." Frisk quickly said, keeping their head down. "We need to talk." Sans sighed clenching his fist slightly. Not a time for puns he thought.   
  
"you gonna have a panic attack this time?" He asked in a joking manner, but his voice was cold. Frisk shook their little head.  
  
"But you already know most of it don't you?" They asked. "It was never a true reset so..."  
  
"yeah kid." He said calmly. "I remembered you. and something inside me told me to keep pap safe. i don't know for sure what happened, but if you fought me kid, then you really messed up." Frisk was trying hard to control their breathing. They didn't want to cry in front of Sans again.  
  
"I-I talked with Flowey before we left the underground...." Frisk knew telling Sans about Flowey living in their house would probably make things worse. "How much do you know about Chara?" Sans froze in his place. He knew about Chara. The princess of the underground thousands of years before he was born. He had only heard stories about Chara. She was the first human child to fall to the underground but she was dead! How did Frisk know?  
  
"i don't know much about her kid." He said faking being nonchalant, "she was a human like you, adopted by tori and asgore, but she got really sick and died." He paused thinking about Tori. "lost a son too. name was asriel, because you know asgore can't name worth-" Sans made sure to filter his language in front of Frisk. "crap." He finished, "carried the human up, and was attacked by the surface natives." Sans looked at Frisk warmly. "that's why tori freaked on me earlier. can't do that sort of thing to her. the old girl kinda has the right to worry, y'know? she's lost too much." Sans realized he was getting way off track, and Frisk wasn't looking much better.   
  
"why do you ask about chara again?" He asked. Frisk was silent. "frisk?" Sans looked back to see Frisk standing behind him in the middle of the road. They clenched their stomach while breathing heavily. Sans ran back and supported the writing child with his arms. "hey! kid, you feeling alright?" He asked, trying to hide the panic in his voice. Oh God, this couldn't be happening now. He needed Alphys.   
  
"S-sans," they whimpered feebly, "I f-feel sick. I think I'm gonna throw up."   
  
"hold on one second kiddo!" Sans tried to teleport but something was interfering with it. Frisk suddenly gave a horrible cry of pain before collapsing on to the ground.   
  
"SANS! SANS! MAKE IT STOP!" They screamed terribly. They were in a mix of sobs and screams as the buried their face in Sans' jacket. Sans tried to comfort the child with his trembling hands.   
__  
"teleport! teleport dammit!" He thought to himself. There was a human hospital not far from here. But could HUMAN doctors help if the child was being torn apart from the inside? No. He had no other choice. Their life was at stake here. He picked the child up and started to run as fast as he could.  
  
"oh god, we'll never make it." He whispered  
  
  
  
W e   w i l l   n e v e r   m a k e   i t


	8. Consequences (Part 8)

Consequences Part 8  
 _  
"Chara?" A small voice cried, terrified, "Chara where are you? Please, don't do this. I promise I won't tell anyone!" The small child cried, "STOP IT CHARA! This isn't funny!"  
  
Suddenly, from deep in the shadows, Chara lay, ready to catch her prey. The poor innocent child would soon be her next victim. She giggled at their helplessness. As the child crept closer to her hiding place, Chara positioned her self to attack.  
  
"C-Chara plea-OOF!" Chara pounced on the small child, knocking him to the floor.   
  
"I've got you now," she hissed. She raised her hands menacingly preparing her worst. She let out a shrill giggle before tickling the child mercilessly. The other child's laughter rang throughout the ruins.  
  
"STOP IT CHARA! STOP IT!" He laughed, rolling over. Chara fell over next to him in uncontrollable laughter. When they had both calmed their hysteria, breathing heavily, lying in the flowers, Chara reached her hand out to the other child. He took it happily.  
  
"Asriel?" She asked quietly.  
  
"Yeah?" He replied,  
  
"Do y-you, I mean um" Chara seemed to be tripping on her words. "how do you feel about humanity? Do you hate them?" Asriel sat up, taking Chara with him. "I mean they trapped you here so that you couldn't enjoy the surface." She replied kind of awkwardly. She looked at her brother with concern in her face.  
  
"Well...." He started, "I don't really know, I mean, not all humans are bad, right? I have you sis." He said nudging her playfully in the shoulder. Chara didn't respond, "and I don't really hate the humans that sealed us here. I mean, being angry won't solve anything Chara, you know?" He looked at his sister smiling. "So there are SOME bad human's but I don't hate the race. And neither do Mom and Dad." Asriel gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "You are family, Chara. We all love you just the same okay?" Chara smiled weakly at her brother.  
  
"Thank you, Azzy." She said quietly, "But there are much worse people out there. People that make me hate humanity and loathe myself for being apart of it." She whispered angrily. Tears filled the edges of her eyes. Asriel held Chara's hand tighter, frightened for her.  
  
"Chara?" He asked, "what happened to you?" Chara bowed her head and clenched her fists tightly. She was shaking. Chara let go of Asriel's hand. She carefully turned around and lifted the back of her shirt up slightly. Horrific scars covered the length of her back. Asriel tried to hide his gasp, but to no avail. Chara sat back down and began to talk in a quiet voice.  
  
"There were people up there who just wanted to hurt me." She whimpered, "I don't know why, I-I never did anything bad to them. T-they just liked it." Chara's eyes were flowing with tears. "I-I climbed the mountain so I could...." She gasped continuously, trying to keep herself from crying. "Disappear...forever." Asriel grasped both of her hand tightly and looked at her, trying to hold back his own tears.  
  
"It's okay, Chara." He said, voice shaking. "You can cry." Chara threw her arms around Asriel and began sobbing terribly. She almost had trouble breathing. Asriel held his sister closely, speaking softly, trying to calm her. "I will NEVER let anyone hurt you ever again."  
_  
  
  
  
Sans stood in the waiting room of the hospital, pacing, unable to think clearly. There were so many humans there, some crying, others screaming at nonchalant nurses. He had only been there for half an hour but it felt like so much longer. He'd watched so many doctors come in to announce the death of one of their patients. If Frisk was possessed, died, went into the void, they may not come back as Frisk. They would be dead for good. But from what Frisk had said, it seemed that CHARA had been haunting them. The thought was terrifying, to have to kill Tori's daughter a second time in order to save Frisk.  
  
Frisk was able to hang on longer than Sans expected. They passed out halfway to the hospital and Sans was unsure they were going to make it. Yet, they did it. Somehow, he could teleport to the hospital towards the end. It took a while until his powers worked, but he made it. He even considered stealing a car.   
  
The doctors here always had blank expressions and no human could get any information from them. But Sans could sense a small bit of anxiety in their souls. Especially when he brought the child   
  
  
  
__  
"please someone help me! help!" Sans had cried looking for a doctor. He was panting heavily. All around him humans stared and pointed but he ignored them. Frisk was unconscious, coughing up blood. Sans could barely feel their soul anymore. "frisk, come on buddy. just wake up okay? for me, for tori!" Frisk was bleeding heavily from their mouth and onto Sans' jacket. He barely even noticed.  
  
Suddenly, two human nurses and a doctor ran out of a pair of double doors. They took Frisk from Sans' arms and placed them on a long rolling stretcher.   
  
"What's their name?" The male doctor asked.  
  
"frisk," Sans panted, "frisk dreemur. they just collapsed onto the ground and started screaming. i-i don't know what-what happened." The doctors rushed back through the double doors before he could utter another word. Sans collapsed onto the cold floor, unable to breath correctly. He'd never run that quickly in this life. Most of the time he just teleported where he needed to go but something in Frisk's soul had stopped it.  
  
A nurse came by and helped the miserable skeleton to his feet.  
  
"will they be alright?" He asked trying to hide the fear in his voice.  
  
"Please Sir, you must let the doctors do their work. I can only assure you that they will do everything they can." But Sans could feel the undeniable sense of pity within her soul.  
  
  
  
  
After about 2 hours of waiting, another doctor came through the doors again. Sans could sense the anxiety strongly resonating within him. Sans prayed that it wouldn't be the one for Frisk.  
  
"Frisk Dreemur?" The doctor called. Panic shot up the skeleton's spine. He spoke out to the doctor, his voice trembling.  
  
"here! a-are they alright? p-please no one will tell me anything!"  
  
"Calm down Sir." He said sternly. "Their appendix ruptured and the doctors had to remove it. They are resting now." Sans' breathing slowed at the last words. But noticed that something was off by the way he said them.  
  
"their appendix?" He asked, "is that important?" He asked concerned.   
  
"It is not a vital organ, though it did need to be removed for Frisk's safety. Their condition was difficult to diagnose though. A blood vessel had somehow ruptured in their stomach or somewhere around their appendix. Appendicitis is not often accompanied by bleeding from the mouth. The doctors could only assume that the rupturing was what caused some sort of hemorrhaging from their stomach."   
  
Sans froze as the doctor said hemorrhaging. That was a sign he had read for post-soul possession. No. That wasn't what happened. It was a human medical problem. But Frisk's last conversation made Sans doubt even himself.  
  
"i-is that possible?" Sans asked, "like, is it really likely that it really was the cause?"  
  
"It seemed to be the most probable cause, but the important thing now is that Frisk has had the primary issue solved."  
  
"primary?" Sans asked, "what's the other issue?" The doctor sighed and his eyes darted nervously.  
  
"I would prefer to discuss this with the child's parents first." The doctor said, "I came out to ask you specifically to call them and have them meet me here." Sans grew impatient quickly, staring the doctor down, black eye sockets.  
  
"yeah," he said preparing a lie he would later grow to regret. "well i'm their dad and i need to know what is happening to my kid!" What surprised Sans the most was that the lie came so easily, he almost believed it himself.   
  
"Oh! Then you're Mr. Dreemur. Of course, I shouldn't have assumed." Sans felt his face glow blue with embarrassment. But Sans' misfortune was not the most pressing issue. The doctors voice grew hard, trying not to let any emotion slip. But Sans saw his pity-laden heart.   
  
"Frisk was put under anesthesia for the surgery but something went wrong. They had no history of medical allergies but there could have been a dosage problem."  
  
"what are you talking about?" Sans demanded an answer, as he grew impatient. The doctor let out a small sigh, letting his defenses drop.   
  
"Frisk is currently in a coma. We are running tests to find the immediate cause." Sans could feel his anger boiling over as he lashed out at the doctor, attempting to remain quiet.  
  
"how in the hell is that not the primary problem?" He asked clenching his teeth. A pinprick of blue light was aching to explode from Sans' left eye.  
  
"The hemorrhaging in Frisk's stomach would have killed them slowly and painfully, sir." The doctor said, trying to stay calm. "The coma may pass with time but-"  
  
"i want to see them." Sans said, staring at the ground. "i   n e e d   t o   s e e   t h e m         N O W." Needless to say, the doctor did not oppose.   
  
He quickly led Sans up to Frisk's room and shut the door behind him. Sans feared to turn his face up knowing what he would see next. He slowly lifted his head to face the large bed in front of him.   
  
There Frisk lay, broken and feeble-looking. Sans caught is breath as he looked at the pitiful child. He could feel their short, feeble breaths attempting to fill their lungs. Sans felt some painful sting deep in his soul. A sudden remembrance from another timeline. He prayed it wouldn't be from the previous run, that this wasn't a picture of Frisk that Sans had painted.   
  
An oxygen tube was stretched over Frisk face that breathed for them while a morphine drip was led by another tube into their arm.   
  
Sans' hands trembled with anger. Someone else did this. He brought himself over to a chair in the corner of the room next to Frisk. Their soul was straining to live. Sans smiled weakly. They were still strong and determined. Sans knew there was only one sure way to know that this really wasn't Frisk's fault.   
  
Sans took a shaky breath unsure of how to go about what needed to be done. He took Frisk's small hand tenderly.  
  
"listen kid," he began, trembling. "i don't remember everything you did back then. a-and i'm not sure i want to. but if this test is right....." He paused, holding back tears. "some things are gonna have to change. grillbz and i were discussing what the procedure would be i-if i am right." Sans hand grew tighter around Frisk's. He felt as if they were slowly slipping away.   
  
He knew the real reason he doubted his theory after talking with Grillby. At first the idea of soul possession seemed definite. But when Grillby told him the procedure to purge the demon and tear the soul away from Frisk, Sans realized that the child would hardly survive the procedure unchanged. Sans was biting back tears, and his vision grew blurry.  
  
"b-but no mater w-what happens you have to stay strong. you're already stronger than anyone i know." Tears were falling from his eyes, though he refused to let go. He stood up and took a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he prepared his magic, as if he was going to fight the child. He gathered his hand to lift Frisk's soul into view. He was careful not to activate his blue soul magic. He opened his eyes to look at Frisk's glowing soul on their chest. It looked like it had been torn apart and then stuck back together. Cracks ran through their soul. Sans breath became shaky   
  
dammit frisk, why?! you didn't do anything." He slammed his fist against the table. "WHO? WHO FRISK?? WAS IT HER? was it chara?" He choked up at the last whispered words.   
  
How could he ever explain this to Tori? She deserved to know, but this was too much. Chara was dead. If it even WAS Chara. He wasn't even sure anymore. All he knew was that he needed to call Tori. NOW.  
  
  
Blackness. That was all Frisk saw for miles. They tried walking but everywhere they went looked the same. Frisk began to tremble, feeling terrified and confused. Tears filled their little eyes. They were gasping, crying in fear.   
  
"M-mom?" They sobbed, "P-please I don't like it here!" They quickly got into a panic, screaming and gasping. "Mom! Pap? Undyne! SANS!" They screamed crying. "Please! I'm scared! Somebody help! Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplesse!" They collapsed onto the ground whispering, begging for help.  
  
.....  
  
  
And somebody came  
  
  
  
  
From the distant, a red light approached the small child.  
  
"Hello Frisk," they said calmly. They stepped forward to let the panicking child see their face. "Did you miss me?"


	9. Consequences (Part 9)

Consequences Part 9  
  
  
  
  
  
Frisk has been gone a long time, Flowey thought. And being literally "planted" in his place, he had no plausible way to escape their room. The boredom was winning him over once again.  
  
  
  
  
The flower growled angrily, summoning his bullets. He started out by just shooting at the door or the wall.  It eventually became target practice for him. He knocked over a few items on Frisk's dresser just for fun, including a picture of a flower hanging from the wall. Flowey was unsure why Frisk kept it. Chara drew it. That drawing.....  
  
  
  
...  
  
  
  
Flowey could feel himself getting more and more frustrated. Bullets were flying in every direction until suddenly, a bullet ricocheted of the wall and hit the table Flowey was sitting on. The table came down with a crash, knocking Flowey onto the floor.  
  
  
  
  
"AGH! Oof!!" Flowey cried slamming face first into the floor, the flower pot smashing into little, ceramic pieces. He was about to get REALLY angry until he turned to see that the drawer on the table had opened. A glimmering light was coming from it. Curious, Flowey crawled up next to it, his roots dragging limply behind him. He reached his leaf hand inside, and grasped the shining object. He lifted it up to the light and found that the object was quite familiar.  
  
  
  
  
He held a gold chain with a small, golden locket, in the shape of a heart, hanging from the end. There was an ornate pattern with the delta rune weaved into it engraved on the heart. It was the same one he gave Chara many years ago. Shaking, Flowey opened the locket. Inside was a small picture. His mother and Father were standing in the back. In the front was a young Asriel and Chara, holding bouquets of flowers. They looked so happy.  
  
  
  
  
"Why does Frisk have this?" He growled. "It has the highest defense of any armor in the underground!" Flowey looked back sadly at his family's heirloom. "I gave it to her. It was supposed to protect you Chara." He whispered.   
  
  
  
  
Flowey slipped the necklace over his head and twisted it around his neck so it wouldn't fall down his stem.  
  
  
  
  
Suddenly, the door to Frisk's room opened up.   
  
  
"What IS all the racket up here?" Flowey's mother questioned, "Did Frisk let a bird in through the window?" As Toriel stepped into the room, she gasped at the sight of the mess. "What the h-" Flowey turned around, shocked. Toriel looked down, startled by the culprit. She paused for a moment, in shock.  
  
  
"I-I cannot believe it," she whispered, "it cannot really be YOU?" Toriel looked dumbfounded.  
  
Did she really remember him? Her son? How? How did she know? Did Frisk tell her who he really was?  
  
  
"M-mom?" He said quietly, but was quickly interrupted.  
  
  
"You are the flower that hurt Frisk." She said, slight anger in her voice. "You are the one that hurt EVERYONE!" She was yelling now, a flame growing in her eyes. She summoned a fireball in her hand. Flowey gasped, cowering as Toriel stood over him. Flowey cringed and shut his eyes tightly.   
  
  
Suddenly, a bouncy happy tune emitted from Toriel's pocket. Flowey couldn't help but think of dogs when he heard it for some reason.  
  
"Oh my god!" Toriel growled, "that stupid dog changed my ringtone! I need Frisk to fix it!" She pulled out her cellphone, much to Flowey's relief.   
  
"Sans!" She growled, "What the hell do you want! Now is not the-"  
  
"tori, it's frisk." Said sans  
  
"Frisk! What on earth happened? Are they okay?"  
  
"they're in the hospital."  
  
"The hospital?" Toriel cried. Flowey could only hear her side of the conversation. Why was Frisk in the hospital?  
  
"their appendix ruptured or something. I-I'm sorry tori, they're-"  
  
"They're what Sans??" Toriel was crying now. Flowey almost hated seeing his mother cry.  
  
  
"they're in-in a coma, tori." Toriel started shaking through her tears. "frisk needs you here right now tori." Toriel sounded like she was sobbing. "hey, come on. a-answer me alright? t-tori? it's ok, just say something, please?"  
  
"I'll be there Sans." She whimpered before hanging up the phone.   
  
  
"Is Frisk um, alright?" Flowey said quietly.  
  
"BE QUIET." Toriel growled. "Do you really think YOU have the right to ask about MY child? Not after what you did!" Flowey almost felt like a scorned child again. The flames in Toriel's eyes were growing, but the anger slightly subsided.   
  
  
"I need you to come with me to the hospital. I cannot leave you here to cause MORE trouble." She said, lowering her arm down to the ground. Flowey hesitantly climbed up her arm and wrapped his roots tightly around it. He could feel Toriel's heart beating at inhuman speed. Oh God Sans," Toriel said under her breath. "If they are not okay, I really will kill you." Flowey did not doubt her.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"W-what are you d-doing h-here?" Frisk whimpered. "P-please just leave m-me alone! Pleasepleaseplease!" Frisk was crying, trying to hold back their fear. Chara stepped closer to the small child, relishing in Frisk's feeble cries. Frisk curled up into a ball covering their ears and gasping heavily.   
  
  
"Come on, Friskie Frisk!" Chara giggled, "You remember me don't you?" She kneeled down in front of Frisk, the poor panicking child.  
  
  
"StayawayStayawayStayawayStayaway." They whispered. Chara was enjoying herself far too much. She felt as if she was finally in control of Frisk again. It felt so incredibly good.  
  
  
"It's me!" She whispered into their ear.   
  
  
  
"Chara," she laughed as frisk whimpered. "Come on Frisk!" Chara folded her arms and pouted, "It's no fun when you just sit around and cry. We need to talk! Catch up! Don't you remember?" Frisk sat up shakily, trying to be brave. "We almost destroyed the world together."  
  
  
"Chara," Frisk whimpered, "what did you do? Where am I? What did you do to everyone?" Chara shook her head and laughed coldly.  
  
  
"Do you not remember what happened Friskie?" She giggled. "This isn't my fault, Frisk! Your own body is turning against you!" Chara was bouncing up and down with excitement.  
  
  
"W-what are you talking about?" Frisk cried. Their mind was racing, so that concentrating on anything was near impossible. Everything felt so fuzzy. Chara couldn't control her manic giggling.   
  
  
  
"Friskie! You fell down!" She grinned, "Like the monsters say! You fell down! You fell down!" Chara sang in a high pitched voice. "Don't you remember? Your organs exploded inside you!" Chara was covering her face with her hands, full of horrific joy. "Even your vessel knows that I'M the soul it needs." Chara jabbed Frisk in the stomach with her finger, causing them to squeak pitifully. "Oh dear Frisk, you NEED me right now! Or else your body is going to give out. And with your fleeting determination, the possibility of a reset will be none!"   
  
  
Frisk looked at Chara, lost. "Oh Frisk, don't you get it?" Chara asked, "The more depressed you become, the more grief that weighs on your shoulders, the weaker your determination becomes." Suddenly, Chara's eyes grew dark, like only her sockets remained. "If you die now, Frisk..." She hissed menacingly. "YOU ARE NEVER COMING BACK." And she was gone. Though Frisk could still hear her horrific voice echoing in the distance. Then there was silence.   
  
  
  
Frisk looked around for Chara, but there was no sign of her. They could feel their eyes filing with tears again. The idea of staying here, alone, forever, it raced through their head, causing panic in their soul.  
  
  
  
"Chara?" They trembled, "C-Chara! Please don't do this...don't leave me alone." They were breathing heavily, in a panic. "S-sans?" They sobbed quietly. "SANS PLEASE HELP ME!!" They sobbed, covering their tear-stained face with their hands. "Please! Please! I'm scared. I don't want to be alone." Frisk whimpered. Then, they let out a loud, heartbreaking scream. "SAAAAAAAAAAAAANNS!!!!" And then, broke down again, sobbing and shaking.   
  
  
  
  
"Sans?" Chara asked coldly, her voice echoing through the void. "Have you already forgotten what that bag of bones did to us?" She asked, placing a phantom hand on Frisk's shoulder. "Or do I need to remind you?"  
  
  
  
  
Frisk looked up to see Sans standing a little ways off, his arms open.  
  
  
  
  
"This-this isn't real." They whimpered, "He can't be here."  
  
  
  
  
"kid, it's me, ok?" He said. There was pain in his voice, sorrow in his eyes. Frisk shook their head, backing up. This was Chara's trap. Sans beckoned them closer. "frisk, please. it's ok. me and your mom are waiting for you out here. you can't stay here kid! the demon has control here! you need to get out! FRISK! GET OU-" and he was gone, evaporated into dust.  
  
  
  
  
"S-sans?" Frisk whimpered,  
  
  
  
  
"you should have listened to him kid." Said a voice from behind. Frisk gasped as they felt their soul being lifted up. They struggled quite aimlessly around, until they were spun around to see another Sans approaching them. "that sans, was your one chance to free yourself from this hell." He said coldly. "but it would seem that you want to stay here with me." Sans laughed seeing Frisk struggle against his  magic. "well that's fine with me." He said, lifting the small child higher. "and here, there is no 'game over', no HP, no stats, no LOVE. i couldn't kill you if i tried, and trust me, i will be trying. here, you'll be having a bad time..." His eye sockets grew dark. "F o r   a l l   e t e r n i t y." Then, slamming his hand down, Frisk fell hard to the floor. Blood fell heavily from their mouth and nose. The metallic taste was sickening.It was a blow that would have killed the child of only 20 HP. Agonizing pain filled their small body, and this time, their screams escaped them.  
  
  
  
Frisk's wail was agonizing. Music to Sans' ears. The pain from Frisk' genocide fight was all too familiar, the feeling of every bone in their body being smashed to dust. Somehow, the sound of their own scream made the pain feel even more realistic.  
  
  
  
  
"S-sans," They whimpered weakly, "p-please stop t-this. We're f-friends r-re-remember?" Sans paused, flames growing in his eyes.   
  
  
  
  
"friends?" He asked, "we're 'friends' now?" He lifted Frisk up off the ground again, rage building in his soul. "do you really think that i am THAT stupid, kid?" Frisk could feel their breaths getting shorter. Sans was suffocating them. "do you really think, that after everything you did, we could really be FRIENDS?"  
  
  
  
"S-s-sans," Frisk fought with every living moment to catch a breath.  
  
  
  
"i could never forgive someone like you. you hurt so many innocent monsters." He growled, "so many BEGGED for your mercy. THEY HAD FAMILIES FRISK! DID YOU EVER THINK OF THAT?"  
  
  
"I d-d-di"  
  
  
"Y o u   k i l l e d   m y   b r o t h e r   y o u   l  i t t l e   f r e a k." His voice became like gravel, though every sound was blurring together in Frisk's mind. They struggled to hold on to their consciousness, reaching out to Sans' soul. But they were too weak.  
  
  
  
  
Finally as Frisk felt themselves ready to slip away, their small body was thrust into the opposite wall. They hit it with a sickening thud, and fell to the floor in a broken heap. Frisk felt the dull haze of death passing over them, but it would never come. Not here.  
  
  
Sans approached the pile, hands in his pockets. He looked at the pitiful child, gasping feebly. As they struggled for air, the very pain of their own broken body weighed them down. Sans gave the child a hard kick in the stomach, watching gleefully as they writhed slightly in agony. The emotional and physical stress Frisk endured, it was more than enough to fill the skeleton's sadistic greed.   
  
  
  
Sans, however, was taken aback as the small child lifted their hand weakly, to grab a fistful of his shorts. He paused for a moment, unsure of how to make of this. He felt something tug at his heart, a distant memory from another, happier timeline. But Chara was in control, and nothing would stop her now.  
  
  
Frisk lifted their heavy eyes, up towards their friend. They found that Sans was no longer standing before them. In their fingers' grasp was the fringe of a green sweater.  
  
  
"C-Chara?" Their voice was simply a whisper. "W-why?" Chara grasped Frisk by their sweater, pulling them up to their knees, forcing them into a kneeling position.  
  
  
"Frisk," she said, her voice warming. "I don't want to hurt you, I really don't." She put her other hand under Frisk's chin, forcing them to look up at her. "You really could be a great partner, I know. But you make it so hard. So insistent on being good and kind....." Chara paused, her voice growing colder. "The real world doesn't care how nice or sweet or kind you are." Chara's grip on Frisk grew tighter. "The world will tear you apart if it wants to. People will hurt you and break you down for their own enjoyment and pleasure. So why BOTHER with mercy? It will give you nothing but pain and death in the end." Her voice turned angry and harsh, while her teeth clenched. "This world.... Will break nice kids like you, down to nothing."   
  
  
  
Chara unhanded Frisk's sweater in frustration, letting them fall to the floor again. Frisk groaned quietly in pain. They prayed for this nightmare to end. They pushed themselves up off the floor and looked feebly up at Chara. She had her head turned, trying to control her angry breathing.  
  
  
"Frisk," she said her voice calming. "Please, we were such good partners at one point." She looked back at Frisk withło a genuine, warm smile. "Please Frisk," she extended her hand offering to help them up. "Join me." She said, insanity coursing through her eyes. Hesitantly, Frisk grasped her hand.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Toriel bounded through the hospital doors, flames dancing at her feet. Flowey sunk behind her shoulders in fear. Humans turned their heads gasping and pointing at the sight of the angry monster. Her voice became deep and menacing.   
  
  
  
"WHERE IS MY CHILD??? She boomed. Her voice seemed to make  the entire corridor shake. The male doctor in the corner simply sighed, frustrated. He approached the monster, still looking at his clipboard.  
  
  
"You must be MRS. Dreemur then?" He asked frustrated.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Sans sat in the chair next to Frisk, in a dreamless sleep. He still gently grasped their tiny hand, even in slumber. He was startled awake at the sound of the door opening. It was quickly followed by a short, pained gasp. Sans lifted his drooping head to face the sound. Toriel stood next to Frisk's doctor, who quickly exited the room and shut the door behind him. The child's mother was failing to muffle her sobs behind her hands. Tears poured involuntarily from her bright eyes.   
  
  
  
  
But it was the thing hanging from her arm which caused Sans to stand from his seat, dropping Frisk's hand. His first reaction was to demand what the despicable flower was doing there, in the room, with a weakened and injured Frisk. But Sans held onto his anger for a moment, seeing the sorrow and fear in Tori's eyes.   
  
  
Toriel ran to the side of her child, collapsing onto her knees. If Flowey had a soul, it would be aching right about now.   
  
  
  
  
_C-chara? P-please wake up........ I-I don't like this plan anymore!!!  
  
  
......  
  
  
N-no, I.... trust you Chara....._  
  
  
  
The words echoed in his pounding head. They looked so much like Chara....lying there, helpless and sick. And trusting her.... it brought nothing but grief to the whole family. Even his own death, where he had learned.... "In this world, its kill or be killed."  
  
  
  
"F-frisk...." She whimpered, taking her child's hand. Sans was still staring shocked at Flowey. He had also noticed Sans, remembering their last encounter, and tried hard to control his breathing. Toriel had her head bent over the floor, shaking.   
  
  
  
"h-hey tori," sans stuttered. "h-how about i uhhh... take the flower outside and leave you alone for a minute." Sans began to lift the flower with his magic. He gasped trying to grab back onto Toriel.  
  
  
  
"D-don't be gone...l-long, please?" Toriel cried, still facing the floor. Sans nodded his head, carrying the flower into the hall. Toriel needed some comforting right now but Flowey had to be dealt with first.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
He took the flower into the hall and teleported him outside the hospital he dropped him into the grass of the courtyard, letting him burry his roots into the soil. Though he kept a magic barrier around the roots to prevent his escape.   
  
  
Flowey sighed, relieved to be back in the ground again, still wary of the skeleton looming over him.  
  
  
"W-w-what do you want?" He asked, failing to sound intimidating. Sans sighed, putting his hands in his pockets.   
  
  
"Didn't I give you a clear enough warning to stay the HELL away from here?"   
  
  
"Couldn't tell with all of the overwhelmingly bad flower puns." He grumbled quietly. Sans grabbed his throat angrily. Flowey tried to burrow away from his hand but hit the magic wall with a thud.  
  
  
"why were you with toriel?" He growled furiously. "what were you doing in that hospital?" Flowey choked trying to answer Sans' question. He almost seemed to enjoy watching the weed suffer. "was it because you knew they were vulnerable? or what? what is your excuse?"  
  
  
"F-frisk let me in t-their h-house you j-jackass!" He growled. Surprised, Sans released the flower. He summoned a blaster and sealed the flower inside a blue, fluorescent box. Flowey cowered in sight of Sans' all too familiar weapon.  
  
  
"that naïve kindness will get them killed," he muttered under his breath. "but i won't let you take advantage of them, weed." The blaster whirred with power. Flowey tried to explain that Frisk had OFFERED to take him in, but Sans wouldn't hear it.  
  
  
"SANS WAIT!!" He begged, knowing chances of a reset were slim. Without another word, Sans sent a white hot blast loose over the flower. He gasped in the burning pain.  
  
  
As the white light faded from his eyes, Flowey found Sans again standing before him. He was......alive? How? Sans was looking smug. Flowey checked his stats. 9/40 and dropping slowly. He looked back up to Sans, frightened.  
  
  
"consider that my FINAL warning, weed." He said, eyesockets dark. "stay away from frisk. tori, pap, all of them. stay the HELL away or i'll finish the job next time." He turned to walk back to the hospital, before looking back at Flowey. "5/40?" He chuckled, "you may wanna be careful on your way home. this time..... you aren't the one in control."   
  
  
Flowey blinked and Sans was gone again. His magic prison was broken and he was surprisingly, still alive. His tiny body ached though. He felt weakened, the draining stopping as he reached 3 HP. He strained to move his roots around, flinching at every slight movement.  
  
  
That Smiley douchebag would pay for that stunt. But he was right. Flowey didn't have God-like powers of save and load. Though he remembered previous timelines better than Sans did. He was forced to sit back and watch the world be run by some snot-nosed, inexperienced little child.  
  
  
He wasn't in control anymore. But he knew how to get it back.  
 _  
N-no. Frisk hasn't done anything n-not really!  
  
_ "No, they've done everything"  
  
 _You can't hurt them!  
  
_ "You're right... I can't. I'll have to more then that. I'll have to destroy them."   
  
_Don't you remember feeling that aching compassion for them? For your sister??  
  
_ "They aren't Chara..." Flowey said, ending the conversation in his head, "NO ONE could ever replace her."  
  
 _  
  
_  
Flowey stared up at the 3rd floor of the hospital, smiling maniacally.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Won't be long now


	10. Consequences (Part 10)

Consequences Part 10

 

"Yo! Alphys!" The fierce fish-warrior busted through the door of the small, reptilian scientist's door with a loud thud. The anxious Alphys fell out of the chair at her desk, where she was drawing up plans, and let out a timid squeak. There was a loud snap from the breaking of a pencil echoing throughout the house. She turned around hesitantly to face her rather loud-mouthed intruder.

"O-oh! H-hey Undyne. I-it's y-you!" She stuttered timidly. She stood up and carefully climbed back into her chair. She looked sadly at her newly broken writing utensil. Undyne bounded confidently over to Alphys' desk. 

"Yeah it's me!" She yelled, "Whaddaya getting all jumpy about?" Undyne gave Alphys a playful peck on the cheek and looked over on her desk. Alphys' face grew hot and turned bright red. She started shaking, unprepared for Undyne's attack. "So? What is all this junk?" She asked, picking up one of Alphys' blueprints and holding it up to the light. "Something super cool right?"

"U-h-h-hhhhhhhh." Alphys stuttered, struggling to get any sound out. Undyne looked back, irritated. 

"Hey! What the hell Alphys?" Then she saw Alphys' shy, blushing, embarrassed face, hiding behind her clawed hands. "FUHUHU!!!" Undyne laughed, "What the hell are you getting all flustered for?" Undyne grabbed Alphys out of her chair and snuggled her close. She was shaking like a tree in a hurricane. 

"H-heh h-h-heh. T-thanks Undyne." Alphys giggled nervously. Undyne put her face close to Alphys' ear.

"Hey Alphys," she suddenly whispered seductively. 

"UhhhhhYesUndyne??" Alphys squeaked.

"How about after this you and I get out of here for a little…" she paused giving a small, quiet chuckle. "Hentai and chill?" 

"H-Hentai?!!!" Alphys shrieked again. 

"And chill." Laughed Undyne. Alphys looked fearfully close to fainting.

"OhmygodyesyesYESS." Alphys' timid squeaks turned to ravenous lizard noises. Undyne stepped back for a moment, holding her stomach laughing. 

"Fuhuhuhuhu!!!" She laughed. "Man, Alphys! You're such a nerd! Calm down!" Alphys blushed heavily and started sweating. 

"S-sorry....U-Undyne." She murmured in embarrassment. Undyne stuck her tongue out playfully at Alphys. "B-but.....I-I'm y-your nerd....." She said quietly. Undyne turned around, giving her a funny look. Alphys froze, looking away for a moment, breathing heavily. She noticed Undyne's face grow slightly red. Alphys giggled a little bit. Undyne looked so adorable when she got flustered. "Heehee," she giggled, "you're so adorable and cute." Undyne's face grew redder and her eye widened. 

"W-WHAT??" She asked shaking, "c-cute? N-n-no! I-I'm tough! I eat rocks! Rocks, nerd!" Undyne hid her face, feeling flustered again. Alphys' fangirling levels were getting dangerously high. The fish-warrior turned around to face her Alphys' desk again. She picked up another blueprint and shoved it in her face. "So, heh, what's this then huh? Time machine or-or nuclear electro-flurbenherben-izer or something?" Undyne looked very tense. Alphys blushed again.

"Uh well, heh heh... That's umm...." She rubbed her hands. "A-an app." 

"Hmm?" Undyne asked, "an app? L-like a smartphone app?"

"Y-yeah. I-it's on my phone right now," She said nervously handing Undyne the phone. She opened up the app. "Uh you umm take a picture and it uh analyzes your features and makes you uh......l-look like an anime character." Alphys looked down at her feet. "I-I call it Manga!Me." She said.

"You uh...made an app....that makes you look........" Undyne paused, "like an anime character?" Alphys covered her face in shame, while Undyne just gave her dumbfounded stares. "dude....that's.... SO FREAKING COOL!!!!"

"H-huh?" Alphys asked, lifting up her head. 

"Come on! Let's try this out!" Undyne grabbed Alphys in a headlock, holding her close to her side as she raised Alphys' phone up in the air. Smirking into the camera, Undyne hit the button. She unhanded Alphys and looked down at the rendering screen. In the matter of a few seconds, a very anime style picture of the pair appeared on the screen. 

"Dude....." She said, "I look so badass!!" Then she turned to Alphys with a very kawaii face. "And you look so chibi!" She laughed. Alphys blushed heavily.

"I-I'm glad y-you like it." She blushed.

"One sec, I'm sending this to myself." 

Alphys laughed kind of embarrassed and turned back to pick up what had fallen off her desk. Undyne finished sending her picture to herself and handed the phone back to her. Undyne continued to mess up the blueprints and pictures on Alphys' desk, pelting her with question after question about her new inventions.

"This is why my desk is always a mess." She thought to herself. She picked up her Mew Mew Kissy Cutie figurine and placed it gingerly in its rightful place. Thankfully, Undyne had gone into the kitchen to something to eat, leaving Alphys' stuff alone. 

 

 

However, there was something else on Alphys' mind. She was waiting anxiously for a call from Sans. He'd come to her door very late that last night. That night, Sans had come to Alphys after Grillby had ordered him to diagnose the child. Alphys, however, had no idea why he was so jumpy.

Sans had no doubt there was SOMETHING in Frisk's soul. Though he had jumped to the idea of possession sooner than he might have liked. He was in a jumpy and panicky mood after Grillby revealed to him the true nature of soul possession. He now wanted nothing less than to prove Frisk's soul WASN'T possessed. But if it was broken, if Frisk's soul had been cracked....No. He wouldn't believe that. 

Sans began by asking strange questions about souls and their frailty. Alphys had never studied much about souls because their nature was so unusual. It was difficult to study since it had no true, solid form, yet he demanded information. That morning, Alphys had done all the research she could, trying to find answers to some of his questions.

The questions were strange and gave Alohys an uneasy feeling. Questions concerning purging or cleaning the soul, the stability of cracked souls. He grew more intense as the possibility of soul possession became more eminent. Sans seemed to be in so much of a panic, Alphys thought he might be drunk.

 

"so what would happen if something remained inside a host despite the damage done to their soul?"

"S-Sans! I don't understand what you're t-talking about. S-something?" Sans began muttering quietly to himself in inaudible gibberish, like that of another language. It sounded just vaguely familiar to Alphys.

 

"✂❄☟☜ 


	11. Consequences (Part 11)

Consequences Part 11 _  
  
  
"d-did he hurt you again?" Asked the small skeleton, sitting against the wall. He rubbed his broken forearm, cringing. Another voice echoed from the small air vent. The small child stayed close to the voice, as it seemed to bring him comfort.  
  
"Um...a-a little bit.... It wasn't bad or anything.....h-he just really needed samples, I-is what he said." His voice wavered suspiciously. "I-I don't think he wanted to......"  
  
"o-oh....okay." The child's hands curled subconsciously into a small fist. He tried to hide the anger in his voice. "s-so you're alright then?" He shuddered slightly, a chill from the musty cold of the laboratory.   
  
"I'm alright, brother.....m-my head hurts a little bit.....could you um....." His voice was hesitant. "try the thing w-with the light again? The one that....m-makes the pain go away? I tried it by myself b-but.....it kind of only works when you're around." The skeleton nodded, though the other couldn't see him. It seemed that he knew anyways.   
  
"i don't know why he separated us....." He said somberly, "we didn't do anything wrong."  
  
"Do you think the lights will still work?" The other child asked.   
  
"let's see." The smaller skeleton crawled in front of the vent and slipped his hand in. He felt another hand grasp his from the other side. It was shaking, the soul obviously in great pain. "you said you were alright....." He said cringing, "b-but you're not alright. Why did you lie to me?"    
  
"I didn't want you to try and look at my memories again." The other said, his voice pained. His voice trembled, "T-the last time you did that.....Y-you felt w-what he did to me. Y-you started screaming...." He began to breathe quickly, panicking. The skeleton put his other hand inside the vent and felt the grasp of both of his brother's hands.  
  
"bro, please...i do it so that you don't have to.......feel it by yourself. he doesn't hurt me as much......it's not fair." The skeleton could hear his brother sniffling from the other side as he spoke.   
  
"D-don't say that brother....Y-you shouldn't WANT him to hurt you." The smaller child's eyesockets felt heavy from the pity. He held the pair of hands as tightly as he could. "D-don't do that to yourself brother! I-I don't want to hear you scream like that again.....Please don't!" The other child pulled his hands away, whimpering.  
  
"calm down, bro." He laughed slightly." I'm not gonna look at your memories again. just let me see your hands, alright?" The child felt the pair of hands grasp his again. He closed his eyes, tightening his grasp. They began mustering their magic subconsciously, a warm glow passing through their eyes. A soothing sensation passed over the brothers.  
  
"can you feel it?" He asked  
  
"Mhm..." Said his brother quietly.   
  
A sky blue aura passed through the child's closed eyes, dancing around and lighting up his cell. It bounded across the room, playfully entangling itself around the skeleton's bones. The other bright orange aura from the other room was running rampant as well. After they had made their way around each child, they met each other where their hands embraced. The two auras intertwined, and went in opposite directions toward the other child. The two auras worked vigorously to completely entangle the two into a magical embrace of blue and orange, their small substitution for physical touch. The two souls glowed powerfully in unison, one seemingly speaking to the other.  
  
The two auras paused for a moment before bursting into a bright green explosion of glimmering color. The two children slowly opened their eyes, giggling slightly at the colors. It was the most beautiful and happy thing they ever knew. Neither seeming to know what to say, the brothers simply felt each other's souls, both glowing with warmth and peace.  
  
"h-heh....it worked." The smaller one marveled to himself. "a-at least my arm feels better. do you feel any better now, bro?"   
  
"Y-yes," he chucked, "I-it felt different this time....almost like...we had been taken away from this place. L-like the outside?" The other child sighed. "I never wanted the lights to leave."  
  
"hey!" The smaller one laughed, "how do you know what the outside is like? did you go out without me or somethin'?"  
  
"H-haha..." He chuckled somberly, "No, brother. I'd rather stay here, enduring pain forever, than live free, on the outside without you." He sniffled, smiling sadly. Unwilling tears began to quickly pool and fall from his eyes.   
  
"h-hey! d-don't cry bro...it's okay...i'm not gonna leave you." He started fumbling with his brother's trembling hands. He rested his own head against the wall. "I never want to let you go...."  
  
"B-brother?" The other child asked, failing to hold back his sobbing. "D-do you think......w-we're going to die here?"  The small skeleton cringed, gasping at his brother's question.  
  
"w-what? no! nonono. someone will find us here...um....I.....uhh..." The small child couldn't even convince himself of that anymore.  
  
  
  
"S-1? Are you awake?" A voice called from outside of the child's cell. Startled, the child backed up against the wall again. His breathing became unsteady, panic rising in his soul. Was the doctor here to hurt him? Was he going to hurt his brother again?  
  
"Brother?!" The other skeleton whispered. A small chain still linked their souls, causing the other child to experience his brother's panic.   
  
The heavy iron door slowly creaked open. The smaller child whimpered, fumbling to find the vent to his brother again.   
  
"Subject 1?" The doctor stepped into the damp cell. "1-S what are you doing?" The man looked aloof, not seeming to take notice or care of the quivering, frightened child.  
  
"w-what?" He stuttered, "m-me? you want me t-this time?" The man sighed impatiently, giving 1-S a disappointed, frustrated look.  
  
"Yes, you. Now do not dawdle. I do not need you wasting any more of my time."  1-S stood to his feet slowly, his legs still weak and sore. He stumbled up to the door, looking over his shoulder to the vent. He could scarcely make out the frightened gasps of his brother. The tall Doctor grasped 1-S's forearm, dragging him out of the room. He winced at the sudden touch, his arm still in the process of healing. The taps of the child's footsteps echoed eerily throughout the dark hall. The cold sent chill's down his back.  
  
1-S and the doctor were not left alone a lot of the time. Most of the experimenting was left to his poor brother. Trying to break the uncomfortable silence, 1-S mustered the same question that continuously danced in his head for as long as he could remember.  
  
"doc? w-why.....?" He paused, wondering if he would regret the question. "why DO you keep hurting him?" He muttered, "m-my brother?"  
  
"2-P?" He questioned. The child nodded somberly. The doctor put his hand to his face and sighed. "I do NOT know where you heard that word 'brother'" he groaned, "I'm not sure why you won't let it go either." He muttered to himself.  
  
"w-we heard it from you doc...." 1-S muttered, "w-when we were younger, you were talking into that little journal-log thing and you said that me and him were 'brother souls' a-and you were the uhh....'f-father soul?'" The doctor winced as 1-S said the word "father." He muttered quietly to himself.  
  
"How the HELL did you even manage to associate that with....." The doctor's grip on the child's arm tightened.  
  
"hnngg..." 1-S groaned, his arm still aching, being jerked closer to the doctor's side. "p-please don't," he cried  
  
"I am NOT your father." He growled, "I CREATED you as a subject for experimentation. Made for the good of us monsters underground." He paused, every stressed word driving the child more into pain. "YOU are the future of humans and monsters. And I will not fail. Even it requires hurting my so-...." The hall went silent. S-1 looked at him, cocking his head. His face was twisted in a confused expression. The doctor cleared his throat. "My subjects..." he said.  
  
  
The pair finally reached the room at the end of the hall, both feeling somewhat uneasy. The doctor pointed to a greasy table in the room.  
  
"Sit down, Subject." he said. The doctor went to check some charts as 1-S approached the table. He spotted two small clipboards on the doctor's desk. Curious, he picked one up off the table. To his surprise, his brother's picture was on the first page. He touched the picture lightly.  
  
"Brother?" He whispered. He wanted to see him again. He began to scan over the paper.  
  
  
  
_ ** _NAME:_** _Subject 2/Papyrus: 2-P  
_ ** _FONT:_** _Papyrus  
_ ** _CASE:_** _upper  
_ ** _HP:_** _20  
_ ** _NOTES:_** _Due to the other's  frailty, Papyrus deals with a large portion of the experiments.  
_ ** _DT POSSIBILITY?:_** _Subject has very high HOPE and tends to stay optimistic despite the pain. He's very trusting....to a point of naivety. He believes wholeheartedly that what I am doing to him is for a greater good. He's not wrong. It's just not for HIS good. He's very close to his bother soul, Subject-1 Sans.....................  
  
There was more, but 1-S quit reading. In the report, the doctor had called his brother 'Papyrus.' Was that his brother's REAL name? Or just....a font? He wasn't quite sure what "FONT" meant. Though he'd heard the doctor mention it to himself a few times. Brother soul...It was mentioned again. 1-Sans.....1-S... Was he a Sans? What is a Sans? Why won't the doctor call him Sans? Before he could look at the other clipboard, he felt something grab his arm. He was spun around the face the doctor, who did not look very happy.   
  
"I thought I told you to SIT DOWN, 1-S." he said irritated, "It is not your place to snoop into my personal business." Using his magic, the doctor picked 1-S up and set him down on the table.  
  
"b-but it had brother on it!" he cried, "p-papyrus!" the Doctor lifted his eyes up, that they would meet the small skeleton's. 1-S shrunk back slightly. A small gasp escaped his throat.  
  
"WHAT did you call him? Where did you hear that name?" 1-S shook slightly  
  
"o-on the paper!" he stuttered quickly, "you called him papyrus! and not as his FONT but like a name!" he sounded distressed and angry. "is that brother's name?" he asked. "p-papyrus?" The doctor was quiet for a moment. Unsure of how to respond properly. 1-S cocked his head to the side curiously. The doctor turned his head away from the child to pick up the clipboard he hadn't looked at. 1-S's picture was on the front of it.  
  
"Don't look at my things anymore, 1-S." he said, looking back at his clipboard avoiding, the question. "Now I have a very important question so listen and drop the issue NOW." he said threateningly, "Before I came in to get you, did you and Subject 2 heal?" he asked, still jotting something down on the papers.   
  
"heal?" 1-S asked timidly, "do you mean the lights? is that what that is? a-and how do y-you know?"  
  
"Your soul still gives off the aura of a chain, the presence of two linked souls in the presence of one. Though it is fading slightly from Pap-" He stopped himself. 1-S jerked slightly, almost jumping as the doctor nearly used his brother's name. "2-P's soul..." he looked slightly nervous. "And yes," he continued, "The lights are a result of soul regeneration, or soul bonding, when two or more souls are involved. It is a process certain monsters use to regenerate health and stamina. Now though many adult monsters with this ability are able to heal with only the power of their own souls, you and Subject 2 are far too youn-" The doctor stopped himself again, continuing in a slow, stuttering manner, "t-too weak to be able to muster enough magic for that. I have been testing and strengthening both of your souls by separating you. It seemed that your healing had the opposite result than I anticipated. Rather than weakening, your magic became overpowered as a way to compensate for being separated. Your magic may be stronger than I-"  
  
"wait..." 1-S interrupted, "you separated us just so you could TEST us?! Is that why you hurt papyrus too?! he was really scared! he needed me and you made him be alone!" Tears formed in his eyes as he continued to scream. "i'm the ONLY thing he has down here! i have to protect him! I have to protect him from YOU!!!" The doctor grabbed onto 1-S's forearm again, frustrated and stressed out.   
  
"YOU have NO right to judge me for my actions! You don't think this has been hard enough for me? What I am doing is for the good of everyone, Sans!" The doctor froze, breathing heavily, realizing his mistake. 1-S was quiet for a moment.  
  
"so...." He said, "i AM sans then..." His voice was just a mumble. "you gave us names...and you don't even use them..."  
  
"N-no...I mean....just...." The doctor stuttered, "Do not use those names in front of me. I don't need things to be any harder right now."   
  
"what? calling us by our NAMES is hard for you? you hurt him so much for NOTHING. you treat us worse than the rats in the cells. why? what the HELL is this "greater good" you talk about?! why do you keep hurting us? WHY?!" The doctor gasped and stepped back as the white light from within Sans' eyes disappeared. His eyes were dark and hollow, dead almost. The child was breathing heavily, his soul glowing so powerfully, it was almost too overwhelming to read.   
  
The doctor was so confused. The subject should not have been conscience enough to understand himself as an actual being deserving of rights and lawful treatment. And names....how could he know that 'Sans' was more of a name than '1-S.' He COULDN'T understand that. He wasn't capable.......  
  
As Sans continued to stare him down, his eyes began to glow blue and yellow, a stance of defense, a warning. He was showing resilience and protection for his family. An instinct of a sentient monster.....No...stop. Knowing he was willfully harming a sentient being, a being with a name and a will to protect his family, it was too much to intake.  
  
"NO!" He yelled, summoning a brightly shining bone at his finger tips. "I WILL NOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BY YOU!" With a flash, he sent the bone flying towards Sans. It pierced his sweater and ribcage, pinning him against the wall. His eyesockets had gone completely dark. Shaking, he looked down at the weapon that impaled him. It was blue.   
  
"h-hhh w-wa?" Sans' voice was nothing more than a slight whisper.  
  
"B-blue." He said sternly, "blue means stop. You will NOT talk back to me again, Sans. You WILL NOT glow aggressively at me. You move, you die. One movement, and your precious 'brother' WILL be left alone. You will turn to dust here, and it will just be me and him. No mercy, no healing, no comfort. Only pain. Do you hear me? I'll spread your dust upon the damp floor of Papyrus's cell. And it will be YOUR fault." Sans was quivering, his eyes glowing in a deep purple and yellow. His whimpers sounded like a faint whisper.  
  
"p-pleasenodontpleasepleasedont," he whimpered, panicked, afraid speaking too loudly would end his life. Tears were forming in his eyes as his breathing came in quick and uneven spurts. He looked up into the doctor's eyes, silently pleading for mercy. He looked at the child for a moment, a strange expression passing over his face. A slight grin formed at the sight of Sans appearing so helpless. A small sadistic voice in his head was whispering, tickled and giddy at the sound of his pleas. The doctor himself began to shake, a slow, deep chuckle emerging from is throat. The chuckle grew to a loud and hardy laugh, changing in pitch and manner. Insanity was passing over the old man.  
  
"H-ha H-haha HAHAHA!" His laugh was mad and terrifying. "W-well dear child, it w-would seem that the tables have turned! L-look w-w-who's in control now you worthless rat! Haha!!" The doctor waved his hand, the bone phasing away, and grasped Sans's arm tightly. He slammed it against the table, wrapping a leather belt around it, which as it tightened, secured him to the table.   
  
"WHAT THE HELL??? What are you doing? Stop! PLEASE!!!" As Sans struggled, screaming, the doctor quickly began tying his other arm and legs down. He finished tying his head and chest down as well. Sans was screaming, tears pouring from his eyes as he struggled to loosen the painful straps. "Ahh!!! Ow! No please!!! Don't don't!! Just eerrfggg let me go!!!!" The doctor turned away to his desk, his hands shaking. He pulled open a drawer and picked up a tray of tools. Sans was unable to turn his head, but began panicking at the sound of the clanking metal. His screams slowly turned to pleas and whimpers. As the doctor stood over him, Sans shut his eyes in fear, his face wet from the sweat and tears. The doctor took a length of tape from roll and began shakily taping his right eye open. Sans silently begged him to stop.  
  
"I-I meant this experiment t-to be meant for-for P-papyrus. S-seeing as your frailty c-could cause u-unnecessary c-complications." The doctor was struggling to keep his thoughts together, slurring over his words. "B-but seeing as y-you are a-already h-here, I s-suppose I'll have to test YOUR soul's resilience instead." Another manic, high pitched laugh began to arise. "B-but I s-seemed to H-have left m-my p-painkillers in the other room. H-heh. You can uhh.. D-do without them I'm sure.   
  
"NO please stop this! y-you aren't making any sense!!! y-you're mental! p-please doc!! stop this!!" Sans begged, struggling against his restraints. He froze suddenly, as the sound of a saw or drill came from the doctor's location. "n-no what-what are you doing?" He squeaked. The doctor stood over the child again, his hands twitching. It seemed he could hardly hear him anymore. He brought the bandsaw dangerously close to Sans' face, sending him into a major panic attack. He felt the saw barely cut through his eye.  
  
"aaahhhhhhHHHHGHHHHHHHGGGHHHH!!!! Please!!!! Please!! HELP ME! STOP IT!!!" Sans screamed in pain as his soul had the same magnitude as someone who had a friend or relative fall down. The doctor continued to cut, driving into a deeper layer of his skull. The doctor had lost it. He was unsure of what he was even doing. Sans felt the vision in his right eye flicker, the pain searing and excruciating.  
  
"BROTHER!!!!!!" He shrieked, the sound bloodcurdling. "BROTHER HELP!!!!!" His sobs became inhuman as he struggled against the restraints. His back had arched reflexively against the bonds. "PAPYRUUUUUSSSSS!!!!!"  
  
Finally...in one last crack of his skull, the vision in Sans' right eye went out. The child went limp against the bonds, unresponsive, his eyesockets dark.   
  
The doctor snapped back into his right mind seeing the child's eyes dull. The damage had been done. He looked down at Sans for a moment, frozen in shock at what he had done to him. The table was stained with the sparkling blue essence of his soul that had dripped from his mutated skull.   
  
"Oh-oh my god. Oh god no. W-what....w-what have I done??" The doctor struggled to undo the leather straps around the child. "Sans? Sans! Say something if you can hear me!" His eyes began to sting, as he bit back tears. "S-sans please....j-just say something! S-say anything! P-please..." His voice was breaking to the point of sobs as he picked the limp child up from the table. His knees gave out as he fell to the ground, still holding Sans. He brought him into a tight embrace, letting his sobs loose.   
  
"I-I'm sorry...I-I-I'm s-so s-so sorry..please....p-please don't leave...I'msorryimsorryimsorry....." His words became incoherent, masked with his own, broken sobs.   
  
  
  
  
_  
Sans stood in the corner, reminiscing on that memory as he watched Toriel run her fingers through Frisk's hair. The nurse assured both of them that the coma had been miraculously broken, and now, the child was merely sleeping.   
  
Sans had blocked the memory of Gaster blinding him during a mad rage for many years now. It was one of the most terrifying and painful things he'd ever experienced. That memory had been the source of many of Sans' most horrifying nightmares. Including the one from that past night. Sans realized after seeing Toriel with her own broken child, that the second voice from his dream was his own.   
  
Papyrus didn't remember the lab where they were made, nor any of the experiments since Gaster's disappearance, thank god. But Sans found himself unable to move on from that one day, having no outlet, or anyone to talk to about it. He could only burry it deep within himself until it came back to haunt him. An impractical method of coping, but efficient enough to keep him from going insane like Gaster.   
  
He still remembered when Gaster held him, sobbing brokenly. He had only been slightly unconscious and certain memories mixed with his dreams. He attempted to heal Sans on his own, but his own healing magic had been fleeting for many years. Gaster had carried him, half-dead, into Papyrus's cell. He heard his brother sob uncontrollably, yelling at the doctor in agony. __  
  
  
  
  
"WHAT DID YOU DO??? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM??" Papyrus was holding his head, screaming and crying. "NO!!! YOU KILLED HIM!!! YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!!NONONO BROTHER!!!!" Papyrus fell curled up on the floor, sobbing, full of grief. "WHY? WHAT DID BROTHER DO?? WHY DID YOU DO THIS? WHY? I NEED HIM! I NEED HIM AND YOU KILLED HIM! BRING HIM BACK! BRING HIM BACK NOW!!"  
  
"2-P! 2-P PLEASE! Listen to me! I need your-" The doctor was interrupted by Papyrus's sobs. Setting Sans on the floor, the doctor reached out to grab Papyrus's shoulder. He quickly recoiled.  
  
"NO! NO!! DON'T TOUCH ME! YOU KILLED BROTHER! DON'T TOUCH ME!!!" He struggled to breathe through the tears and coughing. The doctor sighed, frustrated. He needed Papyrus's cooperation to save his brother.   
  
"2-P? Subject 2 listen to me! PAPYRUS!!!!" The skeleton went quiet at the last word. He still struggled to control his speech between his gasps.   
  
"W-what....*hic* w-what is P-Papyrus?" He stuttered. The doctor softened his voice, as if he were speaking to a child.  
  
"Yes Papyrus. That is your name."  
  
"M-my name?" He asked, "I-I though m-my name was 2-P."   
  
"N-no....that...that's just a shortened version." An impersonal version, a voice in his head reminded him. "Y-your name is Papyrus. A-and your brother's name is Sans, not 1-S." Papyrus jaw quivered again at the mention of his brother.  
  
"S-sans?" He said to himself. He looked over at his brother's limp body. "Hnnng B-brothheeeeer...." Papyrus muffled his whimpering cries in his hands. "W-why did you kill Sans? What did brother ever do t-to you?" He cried quietly.   
  
"Papyrus, listen to me." The doctor put his hand on the grieving child's shoulder. His voice was stern but gentle, a tone the skeletons had never heard before. "If Sans were dead, he'd have turned to dust already. But he hasn't. Not yet anyways. But if you listen to me, we can save him. Now do you remember the lights that you and your brother use to heal each other?" He asked. Papyrus nodded his head. "Well if we use the lights, we can save him. Now I can't use my healing magic by myself, but if you work with me, I think we can bring your brother back." Papyrus looked at the doctor hesitantly.   
  
"I-I.....w-why should I trust you?" He asked, "you did this to b-bro...t-to Sans." The doctor sighed heavily.  
  
"You shouldn't. I have done nothing to earn your trust. But I assure you this is true: if you don't work with me, I'll leave you and Sans alone and he will turn to dust on this very floor. Do you understand? Do you want that to happen?" Papyrus shook his head. "Good." He extended his hand to Papyrus. "Take my hand." He hesitated, having tried to hold his hand at one point, and being shot down. But thinking of his brother, he took it. The doctor put his other hand on Sans' chest. Papyrus followed, placing his hand on the doctor's. "Now listen Papyrus, I want you to try as hard as you can to muster up your magic." Papyrus reached deep within his soul. But his pain was so strong, it masked his soul's healing compound. He shook his head.  
  
"I-I can't! I-i can't do it!" He cried. "M-my soul hurts,"   
  
"I know." The doctor replied, "mine does too. It has been for a while. But you have to be stronger than the pain. Than all the grief." He looked Papyrus straight in the eye. "I believe in you." Papyrus tried again, reaching deeper into his soul. Every memory of his brother rushed through his soul to the point of it being overwhelmed. He needed his brother. It was up to him to save him.  
  
The orange magic of Papyrus's soul danced around again running around the doctor this time. A dark purple essence from the doctor did the same, entangling itself around him and Papyrus both. The magic finally turned into a bright green color. But this time, it resembled fire instead of an aura. It rushed down the two skeleton's arms and exploded into Sans's chest. His back arched up as his eyes filled with green fire. The doctor and Papyrus were both shot back by the explosion.   
  
As the fire began to die down, papyrus ran to the side of his brother. He fell to his knees and cradled him in his arms.   
  
"Brother?! Brother! Sans!!!" The small skeleton slowly opened his eyes and looked up at his brother.  
  
"p-p...." He whispered faintly. "p-papyrus?" Papyrus's eyes filled with tears. He smiled brightly, stroking his brother's healing skull.   
  
"Y-yes....I-I'm here Sans....I-I won't leave you....not ever...." He sniffled again before pulling his brother up into an embrace. Sans tried with all his strength to lift his arms up around Papyrus's neck. "Y-you're here....." He cried softly, "y-you're okay....y-you're okay.." The doctor got up slowly, still surprised at the magnitude of his soul bonding with Papyrus. He probably could have healed Sans on his own come to think of it.  
  
"I-I'll leave you two alone." He said stepping out of the cell, shutting the door behind him. He slowly stood against the door and slid down into the floor. He brought his knees up to his chest and pressed his head against them.  
  
"I-I cracked....." He said quietly, "I went insane and almost killed Sans.....a-and I enjoyed it......" He looked up at the bare wall across from him, feeling dazed from his magic's power, "this project has taken a toll on me.....I-" he paused for a moment, "I'm not sure how much longer I can do this."  



	12. Consequences (Part 12)

Consequences Part 12  
  
"NOOOO nonononono," Alphys stuttered, whispered, backing up from the door. "No! You can't be here! J-just stay away!"  
  
"Wait!" The flower said in a hushed panic, "hear me out, okay? I'm not here to-"  
  
"H-hhhhhhhhhh H-hhhhhhhhhh." Alphys became panicked, and began sweating and breathing in an abnormal pattern. Flowey let out a pained, irritated sigh.  
  
"Will you just..." Alphys was frozen in panic. Her breathing was quiet enough, but she didn't seem to hear the Flower. "HEY, listen to me you nerd!!" Flowey, completely losing his temper shot out a vine and grasped Alphys by the neck.  
  
"aaaaHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Alphys let out a bloodcurdling shriek. Before Flowey could even find time to react, He found himself trapped with an electric blue spear only centimeters from his face. It slashed straight through his vine, sending searing pain up his stem.   
  
"HnnngAHHHHH!!" The flower tried to stifle his cry, but instead, it came out as a full-fledged scream of pain. "ARRGG! WHAT TH-" Flowey looked up to face his terrifying assailant. Somehow, she had jumped from one end of the house to the other, extending one hand in front of her girlfriend, and the other grasping the weapon that threatened to impale the flower.  
  
"Fuhuhu!! Didn't think you'd see ME here didya!!" The voice laughed "What the HELL do you think YOU'RE doing here?." The fish-warrior yelled in a gruff voice. "Showing up here without your special powers? THAT was dumb!" Flowey panicked, cowering as her spear neared closer and closer to his face. Steam seemed to be forming in her nostrils. "Did you think you would be able to just going to come here and hurt HER?" Undyne pointed to Alphys who was grasping onto the fringe of her shirt in fear. "WELL THINK AGAIN, YOU FLOWERY BASTARD!!!" Flowey still shuddered behind his leaves, shooting his 'friendliness pellets' at Undyne's spear, which simply bounced off.  
  
"AAHHGG! StopitSTOPitSTOPIT!!!!!" he shrieked, "pleasejustlemmetalkpleasepleaseplease!!" His pellets were flying quicker and quicker in a very panicky manner. Alphys gave the cowering flower a bit of an odd, pitiful look.   
  
"Uh-hhhh...U-Undyne?" Alphys stammered. "M-maybe.....w-we should just.....hear him out.....I-I uhhh y-yeah...." Undyne glanced at her from the corner of her good eye.  
  
"Alphys! Are you CRAZY??" She yelled, "This weed came here to hurt and probably KILL you!!! And you want to TALK with it???"  
  
"nonononoshesrightIjustwanttotalkpleasedonthurtme." Flowey whimpered incoherently.  
  
"HE'S OBVIOUSLY DETERMINED TO KILL!!" she growled.  
  
"h-hhhhhh p-please don't! I'mtooyoungtodie." Alphys gave Undyne a bit of a blank stare, then turned to the cowering flower. She carefully stepped in front of her, casually pushing the electric blue spear away from the flower with her hand. She knelt down on the front threshold of the door.  
  
"Alphys...." Undyne said in a warning tone, "What are you doing?" Alphys, still quivering a bit, outstretched a trembling arm to the small, terrified flower. Undyne and Flowey gave her the same, utterly confused look. Alphys stammered slightly as she spoke to the flower.  
  
"W-would y-y-you please c-come in?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 _The two children rested quietly in their shared cell. Sans rested his aching, healing head against his brother's chest. Papyrus, who was holding him closely, let his eyes glow a bright orange color, comforting and protecting his weak and helpless brother. His brother had not spoken hardly at all since the doctor left. He just....went back to sleep again. Papyrus was not surprised, having seen his poor brother beforehand. But he still felt frightened and alone. They'd been left in the cell for a long time, almost a whole day. It was so quiet in there...eerie and uncomfortable; the kind of silence that makes your stomach upset. Papyrus's hands felt clammy and weak. The doctor hadn't come to check on them, brother hadn't woken up, and Papyrus was cold and hungry.  
  
"Brother? hnnngg..." he asked quietly, "S-sans....? Please...c-can you just wake up again?" He felt his brother's soul, humming strangely. It flashed in two different colors. His regular blue with hints of yellow. As if his soul was trapped in a constant state of stress... He placed his hand on his brother's chest, the same way the doctor had earlier. He tries to muster his magic again, but he was still too drained, and had no food to restore his health. The tiny, weakened stream of green magic was not enough to have any different effect on the child. "I-I don't want to....I-I can't be alone! Please don't leave me here!" Papyrus whimpered as his brother continued to sleep. He lifted his trembling hand and placed it on Sans' head. He ran his thumb over the thin crevice in his brother's skull. It was smaller now.   
  
Papyrus quivered thinking about the first moment when the doctor ran in, carrying his brother's mutilated body. The memory made him shudder. The look on his face, it was panicked and distressed. Maybe.....maybe it was an accident? Maybe the doctor didn't WANT to hurt Sans.   
  
The doctor had, at one time, warned him that Sans was fragile. He was easily harmed and the smallest injury could kill him. If that were the case, then why hadn't he been more careful? What was he trying to do? Why?! Why couldn't he protect his brother from this doctor? Why did he HAVE to protect him? Papyrus felt his eyes sting with tears again.   
  
"What happened to you, brother?" he whispered through the tears. More than anything, he wished that Sans would just wake up and tell him what had happened to him. Part of him just wanted this whole ordeal to just be a big mistake. Maybe he was just trying to HELP Sans and something went wrong. He wanted to trust the doctor. There HAD to be some good in him! There just HAD to be!!  
  
"Brother!" he cried out weakly, "PLEASE!!! Pleasepleaseplease just wake up! Talk to me Sans! Please! I just want to hear your voice! E-everything just hurts here....a-and.... I-I'm scared....I-I'm so scared." he buried his head in the crook of his sleeping brother's neck, sobbing softly. "I....I don't wanna be here anymore....." he whimpered.  
  
An idea suddenly formed in the child's head. Maybe....he didn't have to wait for him to wake up....he.....he could do that thing Sans did one time....when they were trying to heal one time.....and Sans just.....saw what the doctor had done.......  
  
.......  
  
He needed to look at brother's memories.  
  
  
_  
  
  
Sans stroked his head lightly, running his finders over the place where his skull had once been cracked open. It wasn't as visible now, a small, greyish line running down his forehead and branching out near his eye, but still, the memories remained in his heart, burning like fire. Though the memories remained strong, the pain was slowly fading. Though Sans always kept in mind the amazing phenomenon they had learned there. The miraculous and powerful skill of soul bonding. The beautiful healing process they found as a reward for all the pain they had endured. Though Sans had sense lost part of that healing ability; the damaging of his eye weakening his glowing, and consequentially, his power. Papyrus had encouraged Sans to try and practice with his power. He chuckled sadly to himself. His brother would never be able to recall the real reason why he was so weak. What was the point of even attempting to practice?  
  
As Sans watched Toriel as she stroked her child's head, he could almost swear he saw their small hand, which was hanging from the side of the bed, twitch slightly. He stood up straight, picking his back up from against the wall and watched Frisk intently. The child let out a small, pained groan before their eyes eased open to face their mother.   
  
"M-mom?" they croaked, before falling into a coughing fit. Toriel grasped her child's hand, trying not to let her voice give out or catch.   
  
  
"H-hey you sleepy child." She chuckled, her voice cracking. It seemed she might cry. Frisk turned their head to face Sans....Their eyes grew wide as their pupils dilated in fear. They let out a slight gasp. The sight of they skeleton caused their weak, sore body to tremble. They whimpered as their stomach was turned. They let out a surprised cry of pain, their eyes filling with tears.  
  
"Mom!" they whimpered weakly, "hnnnng.....m-my stomach hurts!" Toriel still running one hand through her child's hair, reached over carefully pressing a button attached to a drip that led to a needle in Frisk's arm. She stroked her head as they cried out again.   
  
"It's okay Frisk. It's going to be alright, my child." Toriel said soothing her child  
Sans looked at the frightened and misery-ridden child....Why was this past reset so difficult to remember? The flower's were always so much easier after the incident with the journals....But Frisk's. Their determination was strong.....their soul was full of it, making the resets more powerful. He......he wanted to know......what had he done to Frisk? This....it was all his fault....He was sure of it. He'd...he'd broken them.  
  
"H-hey kid?" Sans called out to the child. They jumped slightly as Sans called their name. "A-are you seriously "pa"telling me that THIS is tough for ya?" He joked, "Well you're tougher than me by a long shot." Frisk stared hard at them, wanting to laugh...but unsure if it was permitted....They could feel it. The pain of being thrown across rooms and dragged against the walls....he could do it again....if he only knew. Sans looked at the child nervously. He let out a little chuckle to try and coax Frisk out. They gave a little, sad, pained giggle.  
  
"H-heh, " they laughed. Hesitantly, they lifted up their small hand, a weak beckon to the skeleton. Surprised, Sans approached the child's side, taking their hand. Frisk let their outstretched hand fall. Sans looked at the tiny hand, clasped in his. It was completely reliant on his, trusting in his strength to support it. Slowly, he got down on one knee and placed their embraced hands on Frisk's chest. Toriel slowly took her hand away from Frisk's head, watching Sans intently. He placed his free hand against their forehead. The mother watched as he closed his eyes tightly.   
  
"Here kid..." he said quietly, "Let me try to help." Frisk let their own eyes flutter shut as well. Confused, Toriel watched as Sans sat quietly for a moment. A strange, almost eerie silence filled the air. Suddenly, a slight humming started emitting from Sans's chest. An irregular soul sound, resonating as an effect of a damaged glow. His light blue soul glowed, shining through his white tee-shirt. It was flickering a yellowish color for some reason...Almost like a glitch. A weak, red glow from Frisk's soul hummed in response. Dark cracks ran down the length of it, almost like scars. Toriel gasped and cover her mouth with her paws.   
  
"Frisk" she whimpered. Sans chuckled, viewing the child's soul.  
  
"Looks like you and me are one in the same, kid." he laughed sadly. "We're both a little soul sick." Sans groaned as his yellow-blue magic streamed from his left, undamaged eye. Sans rarely healed since his incident. When he did, it was either with or for his brother. The healing process was draining him. An aching pain filled his right eye socket as his magic strained to escape his blinded eye. Threads of blue and yellow flowed from his eye, attempting to embrace the child.  
  
Sans was interrupted by the sound of a door creaking open, which was shortly followed by a pained and frightened gasp. The golden blue threads of Sans' magic fell lightly to the ground and dissipated into dust. Sans and Frisk felt their bonding souls disconnect with a jerk as Sans turned to face their new, unexpected visitor, their uneasy feelings remaining suspended once again.  
  
"H-human....?" They voice whimpered. Papyrus stood on the threshold of the door. He held a small bouquet of poorly uprooted flowers in his hands. Sans cocked his head at the sight of the flowers. They looked like they had been ripped from the ground quite frantically. He stared at Frisk with a shocked expression. His scarf was flipped in an odd position over his head as if he had been running. Sans didn't doubt that his poor brother had been. Though he did admit, his brother looked rather goofy with the red scarf resting on his head.  
  
"pap?" He called curiously letting Frisk's hand loose, laying it on their chest. He stood, legs trembling weakly, to face his brother. His bottom jaw was quivering as the corners of his eyes were touched with small tear-like specks of orange magic.   
  
"Papyrus......" Toriel whispered quietly   
  
"Sans?" He turned to his brother, fearfully. "W-what......what's wrong with Frisk? W-what happened to the human?! Lady Asgore?" The tears started to stream from Papyrus' eyes as panic rose in his voice. His breathing became shaky as he turned back to look at Frisk. Sans placed his hand on his brother's shoulder, sadly smiling up at him.   
  
"It's alright bro.....kid's just....sick." Papyrus looked back to his back to his brother, his face lightening.  
  
"Sick?" He asked. He put his hand to his mouth, forming a ponderous expression. "Hmm.....so then.....if I prepare a fine entrée of my famous masterpiece, then that shall surely heal the human of their illness!" Papyrus stuck a finger in the air with such force that he almost dropped the flowers. "They will so DESPERATELY feel the need for my culinary cuisine, they will LEAP out of the bed!" Frisk let a small, raspy giggle escape their raw throat. Papyrus looked to them. "Doesn't that sound like an excellent remedy human?" Weak, Frisk found it difficult to respond.   
  
"h-heh i'm not sure that's what.....what it really means in this case......t-they're injured right now. they had a-a surgery." Papyrus turned his head at Sans.  
  
"S-surgery?" He asked, "what's tha....." Papyrus stopped, mid-sentence. Something seemed to come back to him. Sans' eyes widened at his brother's seeming recollection. He looked down, confused...... "The doctors......d-did they do this?" He asked. He wasn't sure why he'd said that. "Did THEY hurt Frisk?"   
  
"Papyrus, what are you talking about? The doctors are only here to help!" Said Toriel  
  
"w-wait wait wait pap!" Sans said, outstretching his arms. "n-no no it wasn't any doctors." He was sweating slightly. Toriel was confused as to why Sans was getting so finicky about this. "there was a problem inside frisk's body. the doctors saved them!" He was breathing irregularly. Papyrus still looked at the ground in confusion at what he'd said.   
  
"Sans?" Asked Toriel, "I-I think tha-" She was interrupted as her child let out a sharp inhale. Sans turned around.  
  
"Oh damn, kid! I forgot!" He ran back to Frisk's side, clasping their hand. His hands were still quivering from his previous attempt.  
  
"Sans?" Papyrus asked curiously, "What are you doing? Are YOU hurt???"  
  
"w-what?" Sans stammered, "n-no. i'm trying to help frisk." Papyrus gave sans a look, putting his hands on his hip bones.  
  
"SANS," he exclaimed loudly, "You NEVER heal anything! I've told you to practice! Look at you!" He said pointing to his brother's trembling knees. "You've already attempted! I can feel it! And now you're weakened!" Sans stared at him for a moment, taking in the truth of what he'd said. "Just......let ME, the GREAT Papyrus, bear this burden for his dearest brother!" Sans looked at his brother. He knew that Pap was stronger, magically anyways. He could do more for Frisk. More than a cripple like himself could do. Then stepping away from the bed carefully, he left his brother and frisk alone.   
  
Papyrus set his flowers in a pile on the table next to Frisk. Sans backed up to the wall again  
  
"Hello human!" He exclaimed, trying to seem cheerful. "There is no reason to fear! For I, your friendly neighborhood Papyrus, will certainly be able to heal your injuries!" Frisk looked up at their friend quite pitifully. They just wanted to go home.....but.....what if Chara was right.....? What if.......they WOULD hurt Frisk.....? Why wouldn't Chara just let them die here?After hesitating for a few moments, Frisk offered their hand to Papyrus as well. He took it gleefully, placing his other hand on their tiny forehead. Closing his eyes, orange magic poured effortlessly from Papyrus's eyes. The tiny strands danced through Frisk's eyes and made their way to the child's broken soul. They began embracing Frisk's stomach. They quickly turned a bright green color as they were absorbed by their body.   
  
Frisk opened their eyes, staring up at Papyrus. He healed them so quickly. Frisk turned their head to see Sans, looking dismal in the corner. They wanted sans to try the healing again. They felt.....safe around him again when he was trying to heal them.....Their souls glowed in unison and suddenly, Frisk didn't feel afraid anymore. But that moment had passed so quickly. And it seemed to hurt Sans. Frisk couldn't ask them to do something so draining again.   
  
Papyrus took his hands off of the child, the glow of their souls fading back into their chests. He opened his eyes as the color slowly began to return to Frisk's pale face. They groaned slightly as they turned in their bed again. Most of the pain in their abdomen was gone. Papyrus stood up straight, dusting off his hands with pride. Sans stood watching from the corner. Frisk turned to see a bit of a yearning expression on his face. He just wanted to help them.....but if he knew....  
  
"Ahem!" Papyrus cleared his voice, catching Frisk's attention. "You have been healed!!! THAT is my attack!" He said, face bright with joy. Frisk sat up carefully, putting their hand to their stomach. They looked up, their blue eyes wide in amazement.   
  
"I....it doesn't hurt anymore....." They said.   
  
"Of course it doesn't human!!!!" Papyrus exclaimed, "The GREAT Papyrus's healing is greater than that of any mortals'!!! It is truly TOP NOTCH!!!!"  
  
"Papyrus," Toriel exclaimed in a hushed voice, "maybe you should try to be a bit quieter."  
  
"Oh!" He yelled, "of course, Lady Asgore!" His voice switched to a loud whisper. "I, the GREAT PAPYRUS, am not only the master of the most loudly, loudical, loudness! But also that of the most whisperous, whispering, of whisperessness!!!!"   
  
Sans watched as Papyrus heckled around with Frisk in his normal, goofy way. He managed to muster up a smile. He was so innocent and naïve. So much pain that he didn't have to remember. Sans envied him. He still remembered everything......every experiment, every reset......every time that someone.......  
  
" _pap? bro?"_  
  
  
Frisk had the power......they could take this all away......even if it wasn't them.....it was. He had to keep a watchful "eyesocket" on them.   
  
  
__  
"no.....nononono please!!! no! nono! n-not......y-you...........PAPYRUUUUSS!!!!!!!"  
  
  
  
He couldn't trust them.....not completely.......he could try to help but there was still that chance......and Sans, well,  
  
  
  
 **H e   c o u l d n ' t   a f f o r d   t o   m a k e   t h a t   m i s t a k e   a g a i n**


	13. Consequences (Part 13)

  
  
_Papyrus grasped his brother's limp hands shakily, placing his skull against his own. They were so cold......his own were clammy, trembling. This was his fault. He'd made a promise to Sans to protect him.....but now....He could barely feel his ribcage moving as he breathed. It was so shallow. He almost seemed......it was like.......he was already gone. Fallen down......that was the term the doctor had taught them......Like a state of rest before death. Like they were already dead in a sense but their bodies clung to life refusing to die. Sans was hurt extensively and Papyrus wasn't even sure if he WANTED to know what happened. It was enough damage to nearly kill him. And the scar.....Papyrus was afraid it would last forever.  
  
And Papyrus, he had never tried this sort of thing before.....actually, when his brother did it, it was an accident. It started like any normal healing process......but then, something else had happened. Like his concentration wandered to another place, another nagging thought. And then.....his soul found what it was looking for. Closure. He knew what had happened to his brother after that. His mind wandered no longer. T-there......there was so much screaming. He remembered holding his brother tightly and sobbing while he tried to make him stop.   
  
  
  
  
**"n-no.....what he doing to you....?w-why?? i-i don't understand!"  
  
"Brother!" Papyrus cried, "what are you doing? What are you seeing? I-I don't understand!" Sans made a grunting noise as he tried to escape his brother's grasp on him.  
  
"LET ME GO!!!! LET GO! LET GO!!!!" But he wasn't speaking to his brother. He struggled against an invisible adversary but it seemed as if his joints were locked. Like something unseen was holding them back, making them completely useless to him. Papyrus was terrified, grasping his spastic brother tightly, trying to calm him down.  
  
"BROTHER! Please! It's me!! It's your brother! Shh....Please, please it's okay." He cried aimlessly. With a sickening snap of his neck, Sans jerked back out of Papyrus's grip, facing the sky, eyes wide with terror.  
  
"n-no...." His voice faded in his throat, his jaw still working aimlessly. He looked up at the ceiling with a face of shock and horror. Cyan drops of magic stung at the edges of his unwavering eye sockets. He was seeing something......to horrid for words. "no no NONONO!!!" Sans was at the edge, his defiance turning to begs and pleas. "Please no don't! Please please!" His small voice was breaking in his throat, trying to find more words to fill the agonizing void. "AHHHHHHGGGGGGG!!!!!  Agh! No more no more! Just make it stop!" His screams were turning into terrified whimpers, his voice submissive. He would do anything to stop the pain.   
"BRO BRO BRO MAKE IT STOP PLEASE NONONO!!!! PLEASE HELP ME PLEASE!!! PLEASE JUST STOP IT! Sans screamed, grasping His head as the memories of his brother's torture and the terrifying buzzing of bandsaws filed his tender mind.  
  
"Brother!!!! Brother nononono STOP SCREAMING PLEASE STOP I DON'T LIKE IT!!!!" He sobbed, grasping his brother in a tight embrace. He felt so helpless as he was forced to watch Sans live out HIS agonizing reality. "It's okay brother...." He cried brokenly. His voice was hoarse, breaking up in his throat. His hand was locked onto his brother's, refusing to release the joints into a normal position.  
  
Sans felt numb.....the white hot sensation of pain was pulsating in his head. The world was blurring away, like nothing else could ever exist. Everything was so dizzy......  
  
Sans was beginning to regain control over his body. He buried his face in his brother's chest, eyes glowing and overflowing with magic of a wild blue color. He let out an overwhelming wail of grief. Papyrus held him closely, trying to hold back his own spastic sobs.  
  
"h-he d-d.....i...d this t-to you...." His voice was nearly inaudible, coming out as only a small whisper. "bro......I..t....h...urt..s.....so....much...."  
  
"Brother h-he is not hurting you. It's okay. I'm here....I'm not g-going to let him h-hurt you...I-I'm going t-to keep y-you safe. I-I promise....." Both were crying heavily, the magic pouring from their eyes pooling on the cold floor and mixing together. A sparkling puddle of terror, pain, and sorrow. Sans was left a teary mess as the memories passed. He struggled to breathe deeply with each little hiccuping gasp of sobs.  
  
"I...i.....i....hnnnngg.....d-don't l...le..t him take you away a....again....." Sans begged quietly, grasping his brother's sweater, staining it with blue tears.   
  
"B-brother-"  
  
"don't l-let h-h-him do it again. d-don't y-you let h-h-him do that to y-y-you....." His pleas were lost, muffled in his brother's chest and his own tears.   
  
After another hour-long spell of crying, the two began to calm down a bit. Sans looked to Papyrus slightly, barely moving his pounding head. He looked to the wall of their cell, covered in tally marks, words and mathematical equations scrawled over them.  
  
"b-bro....?" He asked quietly, "i-it's your turn...." Papyrus looked down at his brother for a moment. He didn't want to let him go. If he let him go.....he felt like something could happen to him. "i...it's okay....b-bro..." Hesitantly, Papyrus let his brother rest his head on a tattered blanket, and stood to face the dark wall. Picking up a black writing utensil, he approached the wall, placing his knee on the platform attached to it. Placing one hand against the wall, he scribbled a single line diagonal to 4 vertical lines, making a set of 5. He stepped back a moment to see the chaotic pool of words and markings. A single sentence stood out to him above them all: LET US OUT.**  
  
  
Papyrus looked to the wall of their new cell. There were a few little drawings scattered here and there that he had made while separated from Sans......nothing more  
  
"Sans...." Papyrus said quietly, "I.....I know you wouldn't want this.....but...." He looked up at the ceiling of the dark and quiet cell. His own small voice echoed against the thick metal walls. He looked back down to his pitiful brother, lying crippled and weak in his arms. No. He had to do this. He had to understand what happened! So he could protect Sans! So he could know he could trust the doctor! It was worth it for their sake.   
  
"....I-I'm doing this for you....o-okay?" He finished. He put his head against his brother's forehead, one arm hugging it lightly. He used his other to support Sans' back. He was unsure how to look at his memories as Sans had done to him. He tried to focus on a particular point in his mind. He was like a tiny pinprick of light, searching and dancing along the edges of his brother's skull. He had to find a way in......  
  
Sans' mind was dull, numb, as if it had completely shut down save the parts keeping him alive. Papyrus felt confused and lost, as if he was trying to find his way in the dark. The  and prodding around his mind until it found what it was looking for.  
  
BLOCKED  
  
Some kind of wall was protecting Sans' mind from those memories. It was pushing them away from him, refusing anyone access. It wouldn't let Papyrus in......he needed another strategy. He could feel his brother's soul tugging at the light like a pulsating heartbeat. His consciousness was shifting as Papyrus stirred his mind. He let out a tiny inaudible groan.   
  
"Please brother." Papyrus murmured, "just let me in......" Papyrus felt his soul press up against Sans' wall. It was like it was listening in on his memories. Papyrus pushed harder against the wall, his soul pulsating a stronger glow. This was nothing like the healing felt. He was feeling......anxious not comforted. He felt his own soul scanning Sans' mental wall for weaknesses. Small cracks where some of the memories could leak out....or where Papyrus could get in. Sans stirred slightly as Papyrus prodded his mind.  
  
Papyrus listened for the whisper of overlapping, echoing voices that was seeping from somewhere in his mind.  
  
"father soul-"  
  
"-did you even manage to associate-"  
  
"-will not fail-"  
  
"-my things again-"  
  
  
As he moved closer to the source, the voices became more distressing.  
  
"-have NO RIGHT to judge-"  
  
"Your precious 'brother' will be left alone-"  
  
"YOUR FAULT"  
  
"pleasenopleaseplease"  
  
"-tables have turned.....turned.....turn...."  
  
  
  
The voices finally faded in an echo. He stood at his brother's wall for a moment, upon finding a small dent in it. Perhaps from when Sans had first woken up for that split second. He ran his fingers up and down the indention, feeling the quick slope of its edges. He finally rested his hand on the tender center of it. Then, balling it into a fist and lifting it up slightly, he gave a small knock. The wall seemed to shake for a moment, resonating with a tapping sound.  
  
Tap  
  
"M-my dear child.....worthless rat.."  
  
Tap  
  
"Don't don't!! Just eerrfggg let me go!!!"  
  
Tap  
  
"U-unnecessary c-c-complications......"  
  
Tap  
  
  
The final tap resonated loudly, causing the entirety of Sans' mind to rumble uncontrollably. Papyrus felt himself stumble as he nearly lost balance, but he refused to fall. The wall began to crack like broken glass, the jagged breaks spiraling from the small indention. The wall began to shatter completely, breaking and falling into a dust. Sans shuddered, nearly waking as it fell.  
  
Papyrus felt himself being suddenly overwhelmed as an avalanche of voices began to burry him. His head spun, unable to process what was happening to him. Voices  
  
Screams  
  
Crying  
  
Pleas  
  
Laughing  
  
  
.............  
  
Silence  
  
  
Papyrus opened his eyes only to be met by a blurry picture of an experimentation room. The newfound silence was quickly interrupted by a cold, familiar voice.  
  
  
"B-blue." It said coldly. It was the familiar voice of the doctor. "blue means stop." Papyrus, confused, tried to move but his body fought against him. He looked down to see a blue bone impaling him through the chest. "You will NOT talk back to me again, Sans. You WILL NOT glow aggressively at me." No. NO. This isn't what he wanted! Nonono! What was happening? Why was the doctor doing this?? "You move, you die. One movement, and your precious 'brother' WILL be left alone. You will turn to dust here, and it will just be me and him. No mercy, no healing, no comfort. Only pain. Do you hear me? I'll spread your dust upon the damp floor of Papyrus's cell. And it will be YOUR fault."   
  
Papyrus's body jerked out away from him, kicking Sans out of his grasp. His breathing became ridged, terrified, his dull, unseeing eyes facing the ceiling. The words began to jumble in his head, to the point where Papyrus couldn't even tell what the doctor was trying to say. He felt a feeling of indescribable dread hanging over him, unable to move, unable to scream.  
  
  
" t-to be meant for-for P-papyrus. S-seeing as your frailty c-could cause u-unnecessary compli--I'll have to test YOUR soul's resilience instead." A manic, high pitched laugh began to arise. "B-but I s-seemed to H-have left m-my p-. You can uhh.. D-do without them I'm---"  
  
Nonsense  
  
It was like he was just babbling nonsense.  
  
  
noNoNO!!! This was too much for him! His mind couldn't handle this! He felt as if his own sanity was slipping out from under him. The doctor was mad......and had complete control over him. Papyrus felt weak. He felt nauseous. He felt helpless. He felt horrified, and panicked, and dizzy, and confused.  
  
  
And the worst hadn't even started.   
  
Pain  
  
  
His magic flared out, weak and formless. The whole world was flashing white-hot, searing, blinding pain. His aching head filled with incomprehensible noise. Screams? Cries? Pleas? He didn't know what he was hearing. Or if they were even his. Throbbing......aching.....searing.....blinding  
  
  
  
Darkness  
  
  
  
  
  
Sans groaned softly, picking his aching head off the floor. He pressed the heels of his hands to his eye sockets, rubbing them gently as he sat up. He felt like someone had taken a mallet to his temples.  
  
"w-what.....t-the hell?" He rasped. He took his hands from his eyes, his blurry vision starting to clear. But he noticed something was off. Half of his sight was gone. There was nothing but hollow darkness resonating from his right eye. Before he had the chance to panic, Sans was interrupted by the sound of his brother, shuddering in the corner.    
  
"b-bro?" He croaked quietly. He could hear Papyrus gasping, choking on dry heaves. He writhed horrible c, his back arching off the floor. When would it stop? "papyrus!" He cried out. He tried to pick himself off the floor, but was  nleft with a throbbing ache overwhelming his body, blurring his vision.   
  
He stumbled to the ground, and refusing to give in, crawled to his brother. He was facing upwards, his eyes gla zed and dull from the shock. Sans placed his trembling hand on his brother's chest. He barely seemed to notice he was there.   
  
"pap?!" Sans rasped, shaking his brother's chest. His bones softly clacked together. "bro get up! come on! say something? papyrus what did you do?!" Sans' mind was blurred with confusion. The nausea continued for the poor child, leaving him whimpering and shivering.   
  
What had papyrus done?? He wasn't hurt physically so what had happened to him? It was like he was having a nightmare while still awake. He heard Papyrus murmur something nearly incoherent but at the same time, familiar.   
  
"U-un...nece..ssary....c-comp....l..icat..ions..." He trailed off, his jaw working silently. Sans blinked in disbelief, a stomach-dropping realization passing over him. The lights in his eye sockets went completely dark. He didn't......he couldn't have.....why....? Memories of his own torment fell dull in the back of his mind. Why would he do that to himself? Papyrus was smarter than that. Perhaps it was an accident? How was Sans even alive? Where was the doctor? What was happening to Papyrus and how could he stop it?   
  
A thousand questions filled Sans' mind, none of which were getting answers. He just felt like he was being forced to watch Papyrus suffer, clueless as to why this was all happening. He grasped one of his limp hands that was lying sprawled out on the floor next to him. He watched his brother intently, trying to see if he would respond. He was lost in the shuddering, unable to feel anything from the shock. Sans took his brother's hand and pressed it up against his face. Papyrus was strong. He could do it. He could get through this.   
  
"hhhggck!" Sans was taken by surprise as his brother used his spare hand to grasp him by the throat. He sat up, eyes glazed over and barely focusing on Sans. There was some crazed aura about the appearance of his eyes. Like they had been emerged in some fog or haze of insanity. He stood to his feet and pulled his other hand away from Sans, who was still on his knees. Papyrus pulled him up that the two were eye-level, Sans' feet dangling inches from the ground. In a panic, Sans snapped both of his hands into Papyrus's wrist, not daring to pry his fingers from his throat.  
  
He gave Sans a blank stare that seemed to penetrate right through his eye sockets. The two remained silent for what felt like ages. Papyrus didn't even seem to recognize his own brother. Sans felt like he was teetering on the edge of a breakdown. He felt like every second his brother stayed in that haze of insanity, was another second of the REAL Papyrus being pulled away from him. Please no....he needed Pap. He wanted to cry out and beg his brother to come back. It took every ounce of self control he had to stay quiet.   
  
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Pap's expression changed. His eyes flared a bright orange color, as his magic began mustering an impossible attack behind him. Sans struggled for a moment, watching the attack in awe and horror. How was this happening? He continued to watch the phenomenon until the magic formed itself into the shape of a skull. It was monstrous, beast-like, with horrifying rasped teeth. It's dark, blacked out eyes had little sparks of orange shining from them like pupils, the same color as his brother's soul. It made the attack seem nearly alive. A bright orange ball of magic began to form in the attacks mouth, and Sans was staring right down the barrel of it.  
  
"hhhh.....p-pap.....pap please..." He whimpered, his voice barely above a whisper. "what are y-you....."  
  
"Don't." Papyrus interrupted him, "get in my way...." He growled. Then setting Sans down, his attack began powering up until the light became too much to look at. Sans flung his arm over his eyes as he fell weakly to his knees. He braced himself for what he knew was coming. Seems talking wouldn't do any good now.  
  
  
Nobody is happy about this.  
  
  
  
  
_  
"Sans....did you hear me?" Sans opened his heavy eyes to see his brother staring down at him wearing a grey sweater and his normal, red scarf. It seemed he had fallen asleep on the floor of Frisk's hospital room. He stared up at his brother with somewhat of a dumb look.   
  
"h-huh?" He asked confused and drowsy. When had he fallen asleep? Papyrus let out a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes dramatically.   
  
"Oh my god, Sans!" He huffed, putting his hands to his hips. The plastic bag he held crinkled softly as it swung against his leg. He held a lavender-colored tee-shirt in the other. "I SAID 'will you please change your shirt'? You're covered in.....uhh...." Papyrus trailed off, looking distressed and anxious. Sans looked down to see that his tee shirt was still covered in dried blood.......Frisk's blood.   
  
"oh shit-" Sans murmured under his breath. He faked a nervous chuckled and looked up to find Papyrus holding up the lavender turtleneck. He was looking away from Sans, obviously uncomfortable. He quickly took the shirt from Pap, tearing off the bloodstained, white one. He slipped into the lavender one, tossing his other shirt aside. "ugh....thanks pap." He said, somewhat winded now. "damn, how long was i asleep for?" He asked, rubbing his forehead."  
  
"Since I left so about....." Papyrus looked at his wrist, then realizing he wasn't wearing a watch, looked up at the clock. "Three hours?" He estimated.  
  
"huh...." Sans murmured under his breath. "one of my shorter naps...." He looked back up to Papyrus, remembering the bag in his other hand. "hey, pap, what's in the bag?"   
  
"A few minutes after you went to sleep, the nurse came in with Frisk's things." Papyrus said. His voice seemed somewhat crestfallen now. Sans couldn't help but feel guilty for not noticing sooner. "And well, their clothes were a bit.....ahem....dirty. So I went home and washed them. Took your hoodie as well." Papyrus's tone quickly changed to a very painstakingly naggy one. "You need to wash it more often Sans! It's really freaking gross!" Sans looked at his bare arms. He hadn't even noticed he wasn't wearing his hoodie. His brother must have taken it while he was asleep. Papyrus stuck his free hand into the bag without looking and threw a hoodie at him before turning back to Frisk and Toriel. Sans absent-mindedly slipped into the jacket and zipped it up halfway.   
  
He watched as Papyrus gently set the bag on the floor next to Frisk. He crawled up on the floor and sat next to Toriel, pulling his knees up to his chest, burying his face in between them. He looked tired, which was strange for him. Papyrus rarely slept and was always super enthusiastic while awake. Toriel was exhausted as well. Her eyes were bleary blue eyes were heavy and dull as she ran her fingers through Frisk's hair. She looked like she hadn't slept all day. She probably hadn't. Spent all night looking for Frisk and now this..... No mother should have to go through this.   
  
  
Sans stood up slowly from the floor, approaching Frisk's bed. They were asleep now, color completely returned to their face. You wouldn't have been able to guess what they'd been through.  
  
"hey tori," He said, calling softly to the tired old woman. She looked up at him, her bleary, heavy blue eyes watering from exhaustion.   
  
"Hmm?" She mumbled, taking her hand from her child's head. But then upon seeing Sans, her expression changed, giving him a very weird look. She looked him up and down for a moment.   
  
"what?" Sans asked, confused, "do i have something on my-" The he paused, looking down at his shirt, seeing what Toriel had been looking at. "oh...." He mumbled. He was wearing the old, purple jacket of his that he had given Frisk. Papyrus must have given him the wrong one. He hadn't even noticed when he put it on. Toriel covered her mouth with her hand stifling a snicker.   
  
"Well Sans, " she grinned, "I do not know why you wearing my child's jacket, but I must say, I like this new look of yours." Toriel appeared to be a bit brighter now, giggling slightly. "Purple is a good color on you."  
  
"huh," he replied looking at his new outfit from different angles. "i haven't worn purple since-"  
  
"Purple?!" Papyrus exclaimed from his corner, remaining quiet on behalf of the sleeping Frisk. He looked up, obviously appalled at Sans's new appearance. "Sans! You swore we would never again look back on the horrors of your 'Dreaded Purple Phase!' How did you get that disgusting horrific garment out from under my nose? Who gave that to you??? I demand you tell me!" He scowled at Sans.  
  
"well..." Sans said giving off a nervous chuckle, "you did bro. handed me the wrong jacket." Papyrus gave an expression of extreme surprise.  
  
"What???" He looked like he had been shot or something. "How could someone like me, the Great Papyrus, make such a mistake that could end in the taboo of all failures??" She cried grasping his head. He looked utterly defeated.   
  
"aw what you have against purple? failure?" Sans asked, faking a bit of an offended tone. "you sure about that bro?" He asked, as he began strutting up to Papyrus in a very swaggering and goofy manner, modeling and showing off every angle of his new attire. "i think i'm actually starting to like this new outfit." Papyrus gave Sans a bit of a sarcastic smirk. While Sans, on the other hand, was grinning non-existent ear to non-existent ear.  
  
"I think he looks rather dashing." Toriel giggled  
  
"Get that abomination out of my face, Sans." Papyrus smirked.  
  
"alrighty," Sans said, a mischievously goofy light in his eyes. He turned around, facing Papyrus completely, and squatted down, bouncing up and down on the heels of his feet, showing off his rear to Toriel.   
  
"hey, tori," he said goofily, "i need to 'ass' you a question. does this color make by butt look big?" Toriel, of course, was too busy bent over in laughter to respond. Sans couldn't help but beam. It was the first REAL smile he's seen from her in a while.  
  
"Oh my God, Sans!" Papyrus exclaimed, only sounding half-annoyed. "Why must you always be so obscene? And you don't even have a-" He stopped himself, realizing that to partake in this silliness was exactly what his brother wanted. "N-nevermind."  
  
"awww, come on pap, bro!" Sans exclaimed, "you don't seem that upset. come on you're smiling a bit. you're enjoying yourself!" Sans stooped down and grasped Papyrus in a headlock, giving him a hard noogie in the skull. Papyrus half-swatted at him, half-flailed his arms aimlessly about, in a playful manner.  
  
"DON'T NOOGIE THE SKELETON!" He cried out, trying to hide his grins. He struggled out of Sans's grasp and stood to his feet, dusting himself off. He sighed at Sans's claim of him enjoying himself. "I AM and I HATE it." He smiled mischievously. Toriel was wheezing now, unable to keep her composure. While Sans was turned around, looking at Toriel, Papyrus undid his scarf from around his neck and taking one end in each hand, brought it over his brother's body, down to his feet, and pulled it out from under him. Sans stumbled, falling flat on his face with a loud THUD.   
  
"oof!" He exclaimed. Papyrus wrapped the scarf around his neck again, slinging it back with a victorious flip. He stood, placing his foot on his brother's back.  
  
"You, dear brother, have been japed by I, the Great Papyrus! I will always be the king of mischievous outdoing's!' Sans rolled over on his back, letting Papyrus's foot fall on his stomach.  
  
"ohhh," he half-cried dramatically, "the great and powerful guard papyrus could not spare this poor monster of only one HP?" Sans flung his forearm over his face, covering his eyes. "it would seem tis the end pap, old chum, old buddy, old pal. I've really 'fallen down' this time." he reached out one arm to Papyrus while grasping his chest with the other. "brother! i don't want to go this way. say goodbye to grillbz for me. farewell, my brother dearest!" Sans then let his hand fall limply to the ground, his grip loosening on his shirt. Papyrus smirked and gave off a scoff.   
  
"Very funny Sans." he said smugly. Sans didn't move a non-existent muscle. Papyrus nudged him in the stomach with his boot. "Sans," He said folding his arms, "Sans get up." Nothing. Toriel gave Papyrus a bit of a funny look. But Papyrus was getting antsy at Sans's behavior. He was obviously becoming anxious. "Sans please answer me....I don't like this game anymore." Sans let out a tiny gasp and reached out to Papyrus. He got down on the floor to hear what Sans said. "What Sans? What did you say?"   
  
"i...i....said.......please.....pay off my tab when i'm gone." Papyrus stood up and scoffed.  
  
"DAMMIT SANS!" He yelled, "Why are you so lazy?! You can't even pay off your own tab? UGH!" Sans sat up stifling a chuckle. He stuck his hand out to his brother. Papyrus took it, pulling Sans up to his feet.  
  
"So Sans, " Toriel giggled, "What do you think? Will you keep this new look of yours? I never really see you in any other attires."  
  
"That's because he never changes his gross clothes." Papyrus murmured. They weren't wrong. Sans had never really bothered with changing anything since the resets and the timeline destruction started. What was the point of changing anything if it was just going to go back to normal anyways? But this timeline, it had lasted so much longer than the others. The kid didn't want to leave.....Of course they had the issue with Chara......but the kid....they would never reset willingly....Maybe it was time for a little change, a way to move past everything that had happened underground.  
  
"well...." he said quietly, awkwardly shifting his weight from his toes to his heels. "maybe a little change isn't such a bad idea." He lifted his eyes from the floor, his voice a bit more confident, "yeah, i think WILL keep this new look." Papyrus gave a little bit of a huff.  
  
"You know..." he grumbled hesitantly, "purple isn't THAT bad of a color on you....."   
  
"hey! there's the spirit!" Sans exclaimed, giving Papyrus a light punch in the arm. "getting a new attitude already!" Suddenly, Sans remembered what he had meant to tell Toriel before the whole jacket commotion started. He stuck his hand into his back pocket and turned to Toriel. Then pulling out a wallet, he handed it to her. She took it, somewhat confused. "here," he said, "you and pap have been here way too long. you look exhausted. go get some grub and take a walk alright? let me watch the kid for a while, take a shift. doctor said they were well enough to go home in the morning right?" Toriel looked at Sans indecisively for a moment, obviously hesitant to leave her child. "don't worry tori," he said putting his hand on her shoulder, "you know i'll keep the kiddo safe." She sat hesitantly for a moment but eventually agreed.   
  
Sans waited for the two to leave, taking a seat where Toriel had been. He put his hand affectionately on the child's head, patting his gently.  
  
"heya kiddo," he said quietly. "you awake bucko?" he said somewhat theoretically. To his surprise, the child opened up on eye almost immediately. They hadn't even been trying to sleep.   
  
"Mom was right..." Frisk murmured, "The old jacket does look good on you." They said opening both eyes. Sans gave a chuckle.  
  
"were you even trying to sleep kiddo?" he laughed. Frisk hadn't. They were too terrified of what might happen if they did go back to sleep. Would Chara even let them wake up again....would that even be so bad? To fall down.....never wake up? Maybe then, everyone could be happy... and safe.  
  
"I....I just couldn't...." They couldn't think of another lie. They dared not look Sans in the eye. Though he could already see plainly through their lie.  
  
"listen kid," Sans sighed, "we can't keep putting this talk off. can you try to avoid anymore medical emergencies or panic attacks?" he asked half jokingly. Frisk nodded slowly. "then listen to me. your soul is shattered kid. probably from where you pulled away from whatever had a hold on you. chara?" Frisk's eyes widened in horror. Yes...he knew now. Chara had been doing this. "so....chara then....okay." He put his hand to Frisk's head again, rubbing "none of this is your fault kid. you had no control over it. i just need you to tell me what happened in the past run. who did she make you hurt.  
  
"I....I...." Frisk stammered.   
  
"it's okay kiddo," Sans said comfortingly, "just tell me,"  
  
  
"E-everyone," Frisk whimpered, their voice barely audible, "S-she made.....me kill.......everyone......except you....I-I fought her...I couldn't let her......n-nonnono......" Frisk was trying hard to hold back tears. But they were already slipping down their face. Sans stuck his hand to it, wiping the tear from their face.  
  
"it's okay kiddo." he said quietly, taking the sobbing child in his arms. "it's alright," he rubbed their arm slowly, letting them cry it out for a while. "shhh...." he shushed them gently, his jacket wet from their tears.   
  
"I....I know y-you don't t-trust me a-anymore.......a-and you shouldn't......b-but......I-I.....I'm so s-sorry S-sans........I.....I'm just so s-so s-sorry."  
  
"i know kiddo......i know......." Sans sniffed, trying to hold back his own tears.  
  
"I just want this to be over......I just.....I-I......"  
  
"shh....kid...i'm here....it's going to be okay........."  
  
  
everything is going to be okay.............  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The next morning, Sans sat quietly with Frisk in the waiting room while Toriel got them checked out. Sans draped his old, blue jacket over the child's shoulders, holding them closely. They hadn't spoken much since last night. And honestly, he wasn't quite sure what to say to them. He could say that he was going to fix this.... but he wasn't sure he could......He could say he was going to be there for them.....But honestly, the kid was right. He couldn't even trust them....Maybe it wasn't Frisk he didn't trust.....but the thing inside of them......The thing Frisk had no control over....... Sans sighed quietly. What the hell was he getting himself into? He couldn't handle another genocide. Especially not here. Not when everyone was so happy. It just made him feel nauseous. If he could just get rid of the threat......maybe then....everyone could have a true happy ending...  
  
  
but how?  
  
  
  
  
  
 _Damned flower.... he couldn't give him a damn five minute break from all this shit? Continuously, all day, the flower had been experimenting with the timelines. Sans would be on a walk to Grillby's and as soon as he sat down, he'd be walking in again. Probably the most exercise he had gotten all month. He felt like a prisoner.....bound to this day, this timeline.  
  
"Heya Sans!" said one of his drinking buddies as he walked into the restaurant.   
  
"hey bucko," he said wearily, "how's the misses? kids?"   
  
"Hi Sans! (Greetings Sans!)" Said Dogemy and Dogeressa in unison.  
  
"morning kids. how's life?"  
  
"(Ecstatic!) Amazing! (Did you know..?) Did you know that dogs....? (Can pet other dogs???)" Sans gave them a bit of an odd look, but he'd heard their spiel about a hundred times.   
  
"huh..." he muttered, ignoring them as he walked to his seat at the bar. He put his arm on the countertop and laid his head down on it. He looked up at the fire monster who was cleaning out a glass, eyes heavy from stress. "heya Grillbz....get me a bottle of ketchup huh? would ya?" Grillby nodded, silently pulling up a bottle of ketchup from behind the counter, sliding it to Sans. "thanks old buddy.....you're a real champ, y'know?"   
  
"Anytime, friend." Grillby almost looked about the same as Sans did, seeming exhausted and stressed out.   
  
"heya, Grillbz, old pal, i know you're the bartender here, but mind if i ask you wassup? you look a little 'burnt out.' heh...."  
  
"Hmm, business has been a little slow lately.....but the days seem to go on forever..... it's almost like....."  
  
  
  
"Heya Sans!" said one of his drinking buddies._ _He was walking into the restaurant again......  
  
"friggin......hell......" he growled under his breath. He turned and started walking out of the building.   
  
"Hey! Sans! Where are you going??"  
  
The cold, snow of the town bit his face. He pulled his hood over his head, folding his arms tightly. What the hell was that flower doing right now? The worst part about all this was that he never saw his brother anymore. The flower had become his new best friend. So many damn experiments he had with him. Messing with him, seeing how he could change what he might say. It was so damned irritating. Sans let out a small groan. When the hell would this all STOP?   
  
He walked out to a small clearing where Papyrus had said he would be. But what he found, shocked him. Green, thorny vines had torn up the clearing, poking out in every direction.   
  
"what the hell.....?" He trudged up the hill, trying to find Flowey and Papyrus. Where were they? "pap? papyrus! where are you?" He saw the flower, sitting alone atop the hill within the wreckage of vines. He was shivering slightly, staring of into the distance. Sans couldn't see what he was looking at, his vision blocked by fog.   
  
"Something new....." He heard him mumbling quietly, "T-that's never happened before.....I-I don't get it......" Sans trudged up the hill, finally reaching where the flower was standing. His expression was blank, almost lifeless.   
  
"hey," Sans called, "what the hell is going on? where is papyrus?" Flowey just turned his head, not seeming to notice Sans's presence.   
  
"I....I'm so confused....I HAD to keep resetting...just to keep seeing it over and over.....but....it was....glorious...the way he begged.... the way he fell....the way he trembled....." He looked up at Sans. He seemed like he had lost it, "G-go.....go look at.....ugh....it was...glorious...."   
  
"what.....what.....what the hell did you do? WHERE is my brother??" Flowey pointed toward the clearing with his leaf. It was still too foggy to see. He looked down it at the flower hesitantly, but quickly ran after the fog. He covered his face, trying to block the snow that was flecking and stinging his face. He approached a small pile, snow covering it. Sans fell to his knees, sweeping the snow from it. Papyrus.....he was laying whimpering, curled in a fetal position, his sweater stained with orange magic. "papyrus! oh god! pap no nonononono! what the hell no!!!" He laid Papyrus's head in his lap, grasping onto his hand.   
  
"Pl-please.... don't do this Fl-owey....Y-You-re my fr-riend...." Papyrus whispered, holding onto Sans's hand tightly. "Br-brother???" His red scarf draped over his chest, something poking out from under it. Hesitantly, Sans lifted it away. A large, thorn covered vine was sticking out from his chest, slowly killing him.   
_  
_"papyrus...nonono. it's okay. i'm not......i'm here bro...." Tears slipped absent-mindedly from his eyes as he held his brother closely. How could this happen?  
  
"hnnng...." Papyrus let out a rasping sob, "it hurts.....just make it stop...." Sans tore his jacket off, draping it over his brother.  
  
"i.....i won't let him....i won't let him do it again.....i- i promise....i-i-i...."  
  
  
"Heya Sans!" said one of his drinking buddies as he walked into the restaurant......  
  
nononono not again...._


	14. Consequences (Part 14)

Consequences Part 14  
  
  
  
 _Papyrus raised his arm up in the air, signaling his newfound weapon to build in its magical energy._  
  
"hhhhhhh.....just let it be over quickly." Sans prayed silently in his head. He had pictured and even fantasized over his death many times. It was often a happier alternative to dream about. Dying. Escaping all the pain and fear forever. Sometimes he would think about them going together. Just kind of....losing the will to live anymore. But never once had his death been at the hands of his own brother. "i wonder if it will hurt? will it burn or will it be quick? i don't want to feel this. please no. just let it be over......w-why pap? why would you.....why didn't i......i didn't stop this from happening....this is my fault....i deserve this......" A thousand scenes seemed to play in Sans's head at once. Him and his brother. They were laughing, crying, healing, talking, screaming, sleeping......and somehow....through all the painful and depressing memories, everything still felt better...? Happy, almost. Like, despite all the fear and pain, the company of his brother felt safe. Sans didn't completely understand. Nothing felt right in that moment. It just felt dizzy and nauseating. Why did this moment seem to last so much longer? Finally Sans let out a harsh, desperate plea, flinging his arms from his face.  
  
"why won't you just get it over with?!!!!" He cried out, his vision starting to go fuzzy from holding back tears. But Papyrus wasn't even looking at him. Looking THROUGH him it seemed like. To Sans's surprise, Papyrus pivoted slowly on one foot, turning to face the door. The beast skull, as it seemed ready to go off, reaching a maximum point of energy, turned as Papyrus had. He brought his raised arm down as a command to fire and at the very moment it erupted with magnificent, blinding white light. The magnitude of the blast knocked the poor Sans away into the back wall. His head spun, unable to see anything in front of him clearly. He closed his eyes, blocking the twirling double images in front of him. A piercing ring echoed in his head, refusing to loosen its grasp on him. The whole world was white and shapeless for a moment.   
  
When Sans finally regained his strength, he sat up slowly, his vision still spinning and flashing with white. Everything was clouded with dust. In front of him, a huge, gaping hole had been blasted in the wall. Parts of the cement bricks lay crumbling along its edges. The dust was falling and accumulating slowly around him. Sans's vision focused on the image of Papyrus walking out of the newly made exit, his new weapon close behind like a loyal pet. He tried to call out to his brother, but his yell was caught as he was gagged by the falling remains of the wall. He flung himself over, grasping his chest as he was thrown into a coughing fit, an attempt to dislodge soot from his throat.  
  
What the hell was Papyrus doing? There was something wrong with him and he wasn't in his right mind.  Whatever Papyrus's mission was could endanger himself or someone else. His new power made him seem invincible. But Sans knew that couldn't be the case. He had to go after him. He wasn't going to let Papyrus get hurt a SECOND time.   
  
Sans stumbled to his feet, still in a small fit of gagging. His head felt light while his entire body felt heavy and achy. He bumbled clumsily for a moment, trying to gain his sense of direction again. He couldn't let this stop him. He had to keep pursuing his brother. He had to protect him no matter what. Even if Papyrus might try to kill him again.   
  
Sans made his way into the dreary hallway, plagued by fluorescent lights that made his head and eyes throb and pound. He started picking up his pace, half-running through the halls trying to find Papyrus. A thousand questions were shot through his mind. Everything was so confusing. All he could think about was Papyrus. Was he safe? Was he okay? What was he going to do? What was happening to him?? How could Sans stop this?   
  
  
  
Papyrus slowly made his way into one of the experimentation rooms.  It was empty.....no one there. The harsh lights almost seemed to burn him. Slowly, he approached the desk in the corner of the room. He looked down at the clipboards sitting atop it.  
  
"Subjects....." He muttered to himself. His voice was dark and sounded like he had gravel in his throat. "THAT'S all we are to him.....That's his excuse......Why he did everything to us.......No.....No more....He DIES today....." In anger, another burst of magic shot through Papyrus's blaster, wrecking havoc on the room. It tore through the tables and ripped up the doctor's desk, leaving and rendering it completely useless. The old room where Papyrus and Sans had once been experimented on and tortured would now stand as graveyard for the old memories. Papyrus exited out the opposite door of the room in frustration, clenching his fists tightly. His blaster dawdled behind, seeming almost exhausted from Papyrus's outburst. Papyrus stumbled a bit, his energy seeming to be draining slightly. Despite, he regained his strength and continued to push forward, staggering out of the room. That man would get justice for what he did to Sans. Even if Papyrus had to die bringing it to him.  
  
  
  
  
The old, exhausted and weary doctor leaned up against and rested his arms on the cold metal railing, staring blankly into the bright openness below him. He looked questioningly at the dark vacuum of blackness that had continued to grow within the core for many weeks now. It had been a great source of stress for him. The core, the source of power for the entire underground seemed to be flitting away like dust in the dark void.  
  
"Dark......" The doctor muttered to himself, "darker......yet darker......The darkness keeps growing....and the photon readings....negative. The shadows are cutting deeper." The doctor had wondered for many weeks now a single question. What would survive in this void? What would happen if something were to fall in. Could the weak physical form held up by magic even stand it? Every bit of magic he had used in his experiments had been neutralized, broken down by the nothing, and collapsed under itself. Perhaps the proper collection of mass and magic could in turn cause the void to dissipate. For example......a monster.  
  
He was becoming too attached to his subjects.....His soul had BONDED with one of them......He'd healed the other.......Perhaps it was time.....time to test this theory. Time to prevent this attachment. "This next experiment seems...very.....V-very........interesting....." He paused for a moment looking down at his hands. Holes remained from their creation....Sans and Papyrus.....made from his own magic....his own bones.....Almost like his......children? "What do you two think?" He muttered almost inaudibly.  
  
Suddenly a tapping noise of bone on metal startled the doctor from his spaced out haze. He turned around to see the face of one of his subjects. There Papyrus stood, a cold and hard blackness to his eyes. His teeth were clenched tightly, his hands trembling from a combination of exhaustion and rage. The doctor stared in awe of the monstrous weapon that followed him. The orange pupils of light were flickering slightly as Papyrus faltered slowly.   
  
"Y-you......" He muttered quite weakly. The doctor's look appeared disgusted almost pitying the child.  
  
"Good god......" He said quietly, "How in all hell did you manage THAT powerful of an attack...? Especially with your magic drained........." The doctor had never realized the true power of his subjects. They almost seemed to have a certain determination about them. No.....that couldn't be it......  
  
Papyrus continued to glare at the doctor, seeing if he would make any moves. He did nothing, simply staring and pondering what was happening. This attack was obviously his means of escape.....the attack alone was weakening him. The doctor had no need to summon a defense. He could likely subdue the subject with his own strength. He slowly began approaching Papyrus his hands raised slightly to touch his chin. Papyrus shot is hand forward, outstretched toward him. His blaster faltered forward a tad.   
  
"NO!" He screamed out, half fearful, half enraged. "D-don't! Don't come any closer!!! I-I saw what you did! I saw it with my own eyes!! I FELT it!" He yelped, biting back tears. The doctor raised an eyebrow questioningly. A soul bond so powerful.....it enabled a type of telepathy. Fascinating. Papyrus faltered in his speaking at the doctor's silence. "Y-Y-you-you...you TRIED to hurt him! My brother! You did it on purpose!" The doctor flinched slightly. He HAD broken due to the stress. That was more than slightly concerning. But he had a more pressing matter at hand. "Y-you! YOU'RE JUST EVIL!" He cried. The doctor took another step forward. Papyrus's bones were at the point of rattling. He took a stumbling step backwards, his blaster following. The doctor smirked slightly. His plan was working. He was showing the child his dominance, intimidating him. He watched, curious to see what  Papyrus would do, being cornered like this with scarcely any magic to spare. He was on the brink of rattling his bones.   
  
"Subject......" The doctor said, his voice cold and dark. "I'll have you know that I do not permit you to have weapons aimed in my presence." He growled softly. Papyrus gave a strong, fearful glow from his eyes. His blaster began to tremble, glitching as the magic levels rose and fell. Just as the doctor reached out with his magic to grasp Papyrus's soul, the blaster lost control, as he tried to defend himself, and let out a pure ray of orange energy. Throwing Papyrus to the ground, the doctor narrowly missed the light, which tumbled into the railing on the core, tearing it from its posts.   
  
  
  
  
  
Sans peaked cautiously into the experimentation room. The smell of chemicals and metal overwhelmed his senses, resurrecting the dull ache in his brain. The memories were fresh, yet somehow felt older.....Like Papyrus had taken away some of their familiarity. He'd aged them in a way. He still felt the pain, but rather more like a scar than an open wound.   
  
Sans was shocked at the sight of the lab. Overturned tables and desks, scattered pages of old science chicken scratch and a small pillar of smoke rising in the midst of them. What the hell had happened here? Papyrus.....he couldn't have.......What ever he was doing, Sans decided, was obviously going to get him killed. He had to find him before his sanity completely collapsed on itself. Sans picked up his strength and ran out of the room, leaving his broken memories behind.  
  
He had to find Papyrus.  
  
  
  
  
  
Gaster fell back with great force as the magnitude of the blast seemed to resonate throughout the entire core. Papyrus's legs gave out from exhaustion, causing him to collapse. The involuntary blast had drained his strength, leaving him crumpled on the floor in a broken, sobbing heap. He grasped his head, falling fetal position to the ground. Within his hyperventilating sobs, phrases could scarcely be heard.  
"H-he....w-w-w-wanted....he wanted nonononono......he wanted to hurt......GAHHHH GOD NO!! STOP STOP STOP IT!" Like a conflict with an unseen enemy, a mix of voices swarming his brain, "no one will f-find us.....I..I can't....I have to stop him....GOD IT HURTS I CAN'T NONO!! please no no nonono......no more no more no more........." Gaster stood to his feet, groaning slightly. His first reaction was anger. Undeniable rage toward his lab rat. But at Papyrus's words, the emotion changed. He didn't feel angry. Rather.....annoyed at the child's temper tantrum.  
  
He felt his jaw clench in frustration.   
  
"SUBJECT!" He hissed. He grasped Papyrus by the collar of his sweater. He struggled weakly in the doctor's grasp. His energy was near gone. He couldn't even attempt to cry. Every part of him ached, feeling exhausted and helpless. The doctor grasped his lower jaw, yanking him up forcefully. Papyrus's eyes opened weakly. He could barely even look at him. He turned his eyes away, orange tears still falling from them. He sniffled slightly, shaking as he stared into the doctor's dark and cold eyes. His magic flickered pitifully as he waited for the doctor's next action with much anticipation. He hardly let a breath escape. "Do that......again." He said, setting him back on the ground. Papyrus nearly lost his breath.   
  
"W....hhh...?" More air came from his mouth than sound. He grasped his chest trying not to lose control of his breathing. The doctor repeated his request slowly.  
  
"I said.....I want you...to bring out...your blaster....again.......NOW." He added with a growl. Papyrus struggled to keep himself in an upright position. He was so exhausted, he could barely keep his eyes open.   
  
"B-bu...t.....I....c-can't...." He stammered, his words slurring together.   
  
"You WILL, Subject." The doctor said, summoning his own small bone attacks. Papyrus looked up at him in horror. Would he really ATTACK him to get the blaster out again? He knew that even if he mustered up all his energy, he could never produce such an attack at his current strength.  
  
"P-please...." He begged quietly, "I.....I....I can't! I CAN'T! I'm not...n-not strong enough."  
  
"If you are not strong enough to defend yourself, then you WILL die." The doctor raised his hand back and watched as Papyrus flung his arms over is face, bracing himself. "Pathetic," he murmured to himself, and brought his hand down, sending the bones straight for Papyrus's chest. He cried out, attempting to dodge out of the way of the attack. But he was too weak. The bone pierced through his shirt, shattering part of his rip cage.   
  
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" He screamed out, the pain searing and excruciating. Papyrus summoned his own small bone attack, throwing it weakly at the doctor. A single bone skidded on the floor in front of him. Papyrus toppled over under his own weight onto the floor letting out a tiny rasping sob. His hands trembled uncontrollably as they made their way toward the object that impaled the child's chest. The doctor gave an irritated sigh as he waved the bone away.   
  
"Get up!" He commanded, frustrated. Papyrus curled up, in defiant cries. The doctor approached him again, checking his stats. His HP was down to 5, where it had once been 20. His intent to harm the child must have been higher than he realized. Still, Papyrus COULD produce more magic if he really had to. If his life was in enough danger. Or if he believed it was. "Get up NOW, Subject." The doctor growled louder. He summoned up a few more bones, playing a bluff, threatening to hit him. Papyrus simply closed his eyes, refusing to move. The doctor's fist curled up, clenching tightly. "DO YOU WANT TO DIE TODAY PAPYRUS??" He hissed, in frustration. He needed to see the subject's power. Proof that these experiments were worth something. Even if the smaller one was too weak to show any real power, Papyrus seemed to posses something special.   
  
Papyrus muttered something incoherently under his breath. "What?" The doctor asked. The child's voice was barely a whisper.  
  
"Y-......yes...." He whispered. "P.....le....ase....." The doctor just stood there blinking for a moment. What....what the hell was he doing? This was just a child......a child...in horrific pain.....begging him for death. He was using his power....to attack an innocent child.   
  
"Papyrus...." He said under his breath. A hint of pity and comfort was No....no that wasn't right. Experiments. That's what they are. Not children.....  
  
"PAPYRUS!" cried a voice from behind. The doctor turned to see Sans, standing at the entrance to the core. He was winded and exhausted, but he looked completely broken at the sight of his brother. Horror was scrawled upon his face. "pa-papyrus?" He stammered again, quietly. He looked up to the doctor, his eyes wide. "w-what did y-you do?" He whispered. A hesitant idea suddenly formed in the doctor's head. Stepping away from Papyrus, he turned, staring Sans straight in the eyes. He gave Papyrus a blank glance before taking Sans's soul in his hands and lifting him into the air by it. Papyrus gave a pained gasp as he watched.  
  
"Subject...." The doctor said warningly, taking Sans as he walked towards the edge of the core. Now the doctor knew that he wouldn't really have to HURT Sans to make this work. He just had to convince Papyrus that he was. As long as he didn't wish any actual ill-will on the child. "I said....to take out....your blaster." And at the last word, the doctor threw sans hard against the floor, smashing his skull against the metal. Sans let out a pained groan, as he struggled to pick himself up, but failed, falling back to the floor. The doctor checked his stats. He hadn't lost any HP. Good. He just had to keep his intents in check. Papyrus cried out, begging the doctor to stop. He continued his cycle, picking the child up and slamming him against the floor.   
  
"I CAN'T I CAN'T PLEASE!!!!" Papyrus begged, "Please just leave him alone!!!" The doctor threw Sans to the floor again, this time landing him right near Papyrus.   
  
"Fine." The doctor said coldly, slowly approaching the two. Sans lay in a pile, hardly moving at all. HP was still normal surprisingly. "If you want to be difficult then it seems I have no choice but to finish this." The doctor snapped his fingers, summoning his own blaster. He dragged Sans out into the middle of the floor away from Papyrus and aimed his blaster right at the unconscious skeleton.    
  
"NO! STOP!! PLEASE HE'S MY BROTHER! HE'S ALL I HAVE!" Papyrus cried, gasping as he shifted his weight onto his cracked ribs.   
  
"I gave you your chance." The doctor muttered coldly, as he began powering up his blaster. Then in a instant, everything changed.  
  
"STOP IIIIIT!!!" Papyrus screamed, struggling to his feet. The doctor looked to see a giant, beast-like blaster staring him in the face again. The doctor could hear the sound of Papyrus's ribs shattering under the stress. The cracking sound was horrifying. The doctor couldn't help but grin as he watched Papyrus muster all of his strength to power the blaster, raising his hand. He'd done it. He'd broken through the barriers of Papyrus's natural strength. His body should NOT have been able to remain as unbroken as it was. He should have already collapsed completely, yet here it was. Proof of the raw power Dr. W.D. Gaster had created. He almost felt an aura of pride over him.   
  
But he snapped back to reality at a sudden realization. Papyrus's blaster was full of raw magic and the exhausted child was quickly losing control of the untamed weapon. He tried to step away from the blaster's line of sight, but found that his legs felt heavier than before. He looked down to find that his subject had discovered a new ability. Gaster's souls was blue. And it was too late to free himself. Gaster flung his arm in front of his face, sending his own blaster in front of him as Papyrus's went off. The magic blasts from both of the attacks collided in a blinding array of light, the force causing both blasters to explode in a spectacular show. Gaster and Papyrus were both sent fling in opposite sides of the room. Papyrus hit the back wall, finally falling unconscious as several of his ribs were broken in half. He hit the floor with a clack, piling up in a senseless, unresponsive heap.   
  
Gaster toppled backwards, his foot catching on the edge of the platform right above the core where the railing had been torn away. He flailed his arms, trying to catch his balance. He fell backwards, just barely catching the edge of the platform. His legs dangled over the spot of darkness that grew within the core. This was it.....perhaps....in one final act....he could do it....Eliminate the darkness by cancelling out the vacuum with his own magic. Close off the portal between the surface world and the void..... Please...this had to work. Suddenly, he looked up and to his surprise found Sans standing in front of him. He had a look of concern and fear on his face. Gaster stared back up at him, his hands starting to ache and slip. Gaster flinched as Sans put his hand out for him to take. What was the child doing? After everything he'd done to him and Papyrus.....and he was still trying to save him.  
  
"please....." Sans whimpered,  
  
"Ha...." Gaster chuckled bitterly, "There really is something....different....about you two.....I just wish....it hadn't taken...me so long....to....realize......"  
  
"please!" Sans said more sternly, "take my hand! you're going to fall!!"  
  
"Sans....." Gaster stopped him, "Take care of your brother....and....m-make me proud...."  
  
"w-what?" Sans asked confused. No why was he acting like this? Sans was in shock. This wasn't right.  
  
"And......n...never forget....a-always remember....." What? Remember what? "M....my son...." he finished. And with one final, sad smile, he let go.  
  
"NOOO!!" Sans shrieked, trying to grasp his hand. Gaster with his last bit of energy, shoved Sans's soul back, away from the edge, before falling deep into the blackness. As Gaster hit the void, an eruption of colorful light and blackness combined, shot up from the core. Sans shielded his eyes, searching blindly for his unconscious brother. "papyrus!!! pap!" He cried out, standing to his feet. Suddenly, the entire core began to shake. Sans was knocked to his feet again as the entire room began crumbling around him. He spotted Papyrus on the other side of the room in a small heap. The last thing he saw before falling into a swoon of darkness, was his own hand reaching out weakly to his brother.  
  
  
  
  
  
"GASTER!" a voice cried out. "Gaster! Where the hell are you?!" The man trudged through the halls of the royal scientist's lab. The rooms were cold and dark. This part of the lab had always been hidden from anyone who visited. The man had been shocked to find one of the experimentation rooms completely trashed.  
  
"Oh my god....." He muttered in shock. What the hell had happened here? The man could only pray that his friend was okay. "GASTER!!" He cried out, now in a panic. Where was he?? The man turned to see that this secret part of the lab still had an entrance to the core. "Gaster what the hell have you been doing down here?" He muttered, heading forward toward the core.  
  
"Holy shit....." he gasped, seeing the rubble. Beams and scraps of metal lay scattered throughout the entire room. "Oh my......no....god no please.....Gaster....you....." Gaster had often talked about what would happen if he could cancel out the negative energy of the void growing within the core. This chaos seemed to perfectly describe that. But that energy could only have been cancelled out if.....no....god no.... "Gaster...please tell me you didn't....Please....." His voice was falling into a whisper.  
  
Suddenly, from the middle of the room, the man spotted what seemed to be a small, bony arm. "Oh my god, Gaster?" The man ran through the piles of rubble, skidding to a stop in front of the bone. He began digging through the wreckage, but began realizing that the body was too small to be Gaster's. "What the hell....?" He slid his hand through the wreckage and grasped the body firmly in his arms, and began pulling it up. He was shocked to be met wit the face of an unconscious, child skeleton. His arms were sloppily wrapped in bandages which could be seen through the torn sleeves of his dark, navy blue sweater. His right eye was brandished with a dark, freshly made scar that ran up his skull. "Oh my god Gaster....." He trembled. "Is THIS what you've been doing down here all this time?"   
  
The man stood to his feet, cradling the injured child close to his chest. He checked his stats: 0.25 HP. "Oh no....Still alive...but just barely...." he said, stroking the child's head. "You poor thing....so fragile..." The poor child was near falling down if he hadn't already. The man had to get him to safety. As he turned to leave the core, he saw another body lying piled up in the corner of the room.   
  
"Oh god Gaster....." The man cried running to the other side of the room.   
  
  
"What the hell have you been doing?'


	15. Consequences (Part 15)

Consequences Part 15  
  
  
  
  
  
Undyne eyed  the flower suspiciously as Alphys  took him into her home. Flowey tried his best to avoid her deathly, fishy glance. She carefully took him down into her newly installed lab. To Flowey's surprise, Alphys had kept quite a few golden flowers down in the depths of her lab. For Asgore, he had to assume. She made her way to an empty pot, still full of soil.  
  
“Not THIS shit again.” He thought to himself. He bared the humiliation of being planted by the scientist, again avoiding Undyne's judgmental stares.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
“T-there.” Alphys said, “That s-should be a bit more comfortable for you.”  
  
“Yeah, comfortable,” Flowey muttered sarcastically. More like extra humiliating. It was bad enough that he'd nearly been barbecued by an angry fish. Now he couldn't even escape her wrath if he wanted to.   
  
“Hey!” Undyne snapped, “Be a rude-ass little bastard on your OWN damn time. You came into HER house uninvited so right now you're gonna give my Alphys all the respect she deserves, GOT IT?” Flowey sighed heavily and rolled his eyes slightly. He may be terrified of the fish but he wasn't gonna lose this smart-ass battle to her.   
  
“Flowey, don't listen to her.” Alphys said, a bit of annoyance in her voice. “Please can you just tell us what's wrong?” Undyne was now confused as to which of the two to give her deathly glance.   
  
“There isn't anything wrong per say.” He said slowly. “I just need a place to say. I wanted to visit the surface....but, you know, it's kinda cold. Not exactly perfect weather for a flower.” Alphys nodded slowly while Undyne began simultaneously shaking her head. “Frisk offered to let me stay with them....but..” He began subconsciously fumbling with the locket that was still on his stem. “uh...Sans wasn't exactly keen on it. He may or may not have threatened to end my life if I came near them again.” He added nervously.   
  
“You know I may have to join him on that one.....” Undyne smirked, “Doesn't sound like too bad of an idea.” The flower acted like he didn't hear her mumbling, turning back to Alphys.  
  
“A place to stay huh?” She asked. “I mean....I-I suppose you could stay down in the lab for a bit. I-I don't mind...”  
  
Wait wait wait.” Undyne stammered. “You're kidding right? Don't MIND?” Undyne said, “Alphys have you already forgotten what that weed did to us?? Not only us, he tried to kill Frisk as well. And you want to give him somewhere to STAY? Are you crazy?!”   
  
“B-but Undyne....I....I mean....everyone should get a second chance.” Alphys said, the quavering in her voice dying down as her volume increased. “Everyone makes mistakes sometimes.”  
  
“NO ONE can screw up as badly as HE did.” Flowey shrunk back a bit watching Undyne's expression change.  
  
“That's NOT TRUE Undyne!” Alphys yelled. The change in her voice shocked Flowey. He'd never heard her so upset. “What about me huh? Did you forget what I did? I did something absolutely UNFORGIVABLE, but I DID get a second chance!”  
  
“NO ALPHYS YOU'RE WRONG!” She yelled, getting her face down on Alphys's level. “What happened with you was an entirely different situation! He KILLED people.”  
  
“Oh, YEAH? KILLED PEOPLE?” Alphys laughed, “Well I did a HELL of a lot worse than that. Those were innocent monsters and made their lives a living hell.” Alphys began twisting her hands together in a rather disturbing manner. “Twisting and burning and mushing their bodies together to create entirely new mutations.” Alphys's voice began speed up as her words turned into nervous mumbling, her breaths becoming short and panicked. “I couldn't even let them die. They CAN'T die anymore. They have to LIVE like this FOREVER! Don't you GET it Undyne?? I fucked up!” Alphys screamed jabbing her finger into Undyne's chest. “WAY more than the FLOWER HERE did. You think he doesn't deserve a second chance? Then WHY am I here instead of ROTTING in some dirty, godforsaken prison where I belong huh?”  
  
ALPHYS! For God's sake get a hold of yourself!” Undyne cried, grabbing hold of Alphys's shoulders.  
  
“DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE TOUCH ME!” She screeched pulling away from Undyne's grasp. Her breathing was rasp and jagged as tears began falling from her eyes. Her face turning bright red as she began to lose consciousness.   
  
“Alphys!” Undyne shrieked, “Please for the love of hell calm down!” Alphys  couldn't even hear her anymore. “Alphys please!” She cried, her own voice beginning to go. “Dammit Alphys snap out of it!! SNAP OUT OF IT!” Undyne's hand suddenly met Alphys's face with a hard strike as she screamed. The entire room went silent. Alphys was at first taken aback with pain and surprise, but was even more shocked to see a thorny vine now wrapped around Undyne's wrist. Alphys looked back to see Flowey, the flash of anger in his eye's now dying down as he had tried to protect Alphys.  
  
No one in the room had a thing to say.  
  
“I....” Undyne stammered, “I... I don't know what came over me.....Alphys I'm so-”  
  
“Save it Undyne.....” Alphys said looking down at her feet. “I don't want to hear it.” She said wiping the tears from her face. “Just get out of here.”   
  
“Alphys I-”   
  
“I said.....” She interrupted, “Get out of my house. NOW.” Undyne stared at Alphys in guilt and disbelief. She took a hesitant step back, as Flowey let loose of her hand. She turned, nearly tripping over her feet as she walked back towards the steps. Alphys could feel Undyne's desire to turn back to her. But her pride got in the way. Alphys watched as she disappeared, finally looking away as she heard her exit out the front door. Flowey stared at her for a moment, cocking his head slightly. She turned in his direction suddenly, refusing to look him in the eye.   
  
“Alphys...?”  
  
“Come on.” she said coldly, “Let's find you some place to sleep.”   
  
  
  
  
  
  
__  
The man ran up to the collapsed child in panic and worry. He carefully set the smaller skeleton on the floor next to him as he began to examine the other one gingerly. His clothes were scorched and covered with dust and rubble. His shorts were torn at the edges, looking like they hadn't been washed in a considerable amount of time.  
  
He softly rolled him over onto his back, cushioning his head under his arm. There was a hole pierced through both sides his sweater, as if he had been impaled by something.   
  
'N-no....." he stammered, his voice trembling. Hands shaking, the man rolled up the child's sweater, taking a look at his ribs. "Sweet Jesus....." he breathed, losing his voice. Several of the ribs on his left side were cracked in a shattered mess while others were completely broken in a splintering ruin. The man was beyond horrified. "Gaster....." he whispered, "what the hell....is THIS what you've been doing?" The child's chest had been completely mutilated by some attack, something unbearably strong compared to him. The attack must have been excruciating. He could only pray that the child had been knocked unconscious from the pain. The thought of him having to be awake while his ribs were splitting...it made him sick to even consider.  
  
Gaster....His oldest friend, had been acting noticeably strange for a considerable amount of time. He had been acting up, or breaking down into random fits of rage. He'd blamed it on his 'projects' that were apparently to confusing to explain. The man assumed it was the dark void that had been growing within the Underground's core for quite some time. He had talked about how maybe some magical energy could cancel out the void, stopping the rapid growth of darkness. Could that have been what happened? ....the void was gone....and so was Gaster....  
  
No.... He couldn't have....  
  
But the children....? Had Gaster....really...been keeping CHILDREN down in his lab for this long? And subjected them.....to his experiments...? And the taller child...he had been attacked by someone or something of far greater strength. The man's hands started trembling. He didn't want to believe that his friend had been responsible for any of this. The core was in ruins and Gaster was nowhere to be found, leaving only two, injured and helpless children as witnesses. Perhaps they had been attacked by something, or the core had overheated and gone into critical condition. Perhaps this was the result of some mock fight Gaster had set up? The man looked to the smaller child. "He could have done this." He thought to himself. But then again.....who forced them to fight?   
  
Despite everything, Gaster was still responsible for their health and needless to say, neither of the children were in good condition. They looked as though they had been caged, starved, and treated inhumanely. Both had scars from cracked bones running up and down their bodies. The taller one more that the other. And the healing job was sloppy. Like it had been performed by an inexperienced monster. Or by a child....Gaster HAD been struggling with his healing lately. The man assumed it had just been from the stresses of work. But now, he was starting to doubt that. The man sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes with his free hand..   
  
He looked down again at the two children. He hadn't even noticed that he had been stroking the taller one's head. These two skeletons were most likely the only thing that could give an account as to what had happened in the core and what had been done to them.....and what had happened to Gaster. But both of them were in horribly critical condition.   
  
  
"shit," he whispered to himself as he began to slip off his own jacket. He slowly took off the taller child's sweater. He wanted to make sure he could see the damaged ribs when he carried the child back. He wasn't quite sure how long the healing would take on the taller one. Or if he would even wake up. It would take at least a week, he knew. He wasn't even sure if the taller one would ever wake up.  
  
He felt his eyes sting as he placed both the child's sweater and his own jacket under the body of the child. This was his fault. He knew Gaster had been acting strange but he simply ignored it, leaving his suspicions at the door. THIS was the result. He could only imagine how much suffering he could have spared these children....and now.....  
  
Stop....He couldn't worry about that right now. The only thing that mattered was getting these children safe. He couldn't carry both of them at the same time without magic. And honestly he wasn't confident enough to carry one of the injured children that way. And he definitely wasn't going to leave one of them there in that unstable place. He would need help getting them both safe. And there was only one person who knew Gaster almost as well as he did. His hands trembled as he picked his cell phone from his pocket.  
"H-hello?" He paused for a moment upon receiving a rather large and odd greeting from his friend. He moved the phone slightly away from his ear. "Y-yeah it's good to talk to you to....even though we saw each other two days ago." He muttered under his breath. "L-listen, this is important. I need you to get to the core right now. It's about Wing Dings." He paused again hearing his friend's bouncy response. "In trouble? Y-yeah I guess you could say that." He said quietly. "L-listen just get here right now okay. More than you think is hanging in the balance."   
  
  
  
  
  
The cloaked man stepped through the entrance to the core, looking around unfazed at the havoc that had been wrecked upon it.  
  
"Hm." He said as a chill passed over him. "I should have worn a few million more pairs of pants today....." He muttered. He looked to see his friend crouched down over something, a green magic emanating from the bundle. He began to make his way over to him, lifting is cloak as stepped over the beams and rubble. "Oh dear....what happened here I wonder?" he said, quite disgusted. "I'll have to get this dry cleaned after this little outing. Ha ha..." About halfway to the other person, the cloaked man put his hand to the approximate location of his mouth, cupping it as he called out to his friend. "Ahoy, Grillby old friend!" He yelled. His amplified voice causing the room to resonate. The fire monster looked up, eyes teared up.   
  
"Y-you're here....Thank God......." Grillby said, a wave of relive passing over him as his voice broke. "I-I've been able to keep him stable.... f-for now....He's badly hurt....I....I need to get him safe."  
  
"Him?" The Riverperson questioned, "Is that old Wingdings over there? What happened to him?" Grillby remained silent and focused. The Riverperson knew Gaster had never been particularly fond of his given name. So naturally, his old buddy teased the hell out of him with it.   
  
He made the rest of his way to Grillby, trying to get a good glimpse of what he was healing. When he at last stood over the man, he was almost startled. He looked down at the small skeleton who was resting on a blanket of garments, ribs twisted and broken in abnormal and unnatural positions.   
  
“W-what?” The Riverperson questioned, turning his head. “I.....” For once in his life the man had no idea what to say. His initial reaction was to ask, 'Wingdings had a child?' But at the sight of his ribs he was completely disgusted. What happened to this poor child? He took a deep breath, his voice trembling. “You know.....” He said slowly, “He really does resemble him.” He laughed quietly. “B-but....what IS he? And why is he down here?”   
  
“I....I don't know. And I don't know what happened to Gaster....” Grillby said, trying to focus all his magic and energy into healing the child. “But this is the only way we can ever have a chance at knowing. I need you to help me bring them home safe.”  
  
“Them?” the man asked confused. He looked over Grillby's shoulder to see another small form lying alone on the ground. ANOTHER one? Creeping slowly towards him, the Riverperson begged a closer look of the child. He was a bit shorter, slightly chubbier than the other. Thankfully, he was in slightly better shape. His heart broke when he spotted the scar that ran though his right eye. The Riverperson carefully slipped his hands under the child in tight embrace and lifted him up in his arms. The child made a tiny, squeaky groaning noise as he rolled over into the warm embrace of the Riverperson's cloak. He chuckled as he began to rock the child slightly. “Tra la la....” he sang quietly to him. “You know Grillby, singing in my opinion is always the best option to soothe a child.” He turned back to Grillby. “Take the other one to my boat that's docked in my normal stop.” He said. “I'll help you get these two back to Snowdin. I'm quite curious myself to learn how this story ends.”  
  
Grillby took the taller child up in his arms as he made himself careful of the damaged ribs. Together, the two left the core and headed out towards the Hotland docking area. The Riverperson looked back suddenly seeing that Grillby had stopped. His eyes were closed tightly shut as he made a pained expression with his face.  
  
“Grillbz?” he asked, “Are you feeling okay?” Grillby groaned slightly.  
  
“I.....I just saw....Old memories of Gaster....” He stammered, “But...when I try to remember him.....it's like.......it's all fuzzy.....” The Riverperson looked at him, concerned.   
  
“I've never liked this place....” He said slowly. “There's too much mystery to it all. I wouldn't worry about it too much, old friend. Probably just the core getting to you.”  
  
“Hmm.....” Grillby mumbled, saying nothing else. Something still felt wrong.....But still....He couldn't worry about that right now.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The Riverperson couldn't help but smile as he carried the tiny child in his arms. He snuggled him tightly as he reached his boat,  almost forgetting what he was doing with him.   
  
“Makes me wish I had my own kids,” He muttered. He took one hand off the child tossing him gently against one shoulder as he grasped the edge of his boat. He stepped in gently, the magic in his vessel holding itself in place like an anchor. He set the child gently on the floor of the boat as Grillby proceeded as well, handing the other child to his friend, trying to keep his back completely straight then stepping in the boat himself. The Riverperson put the child in Grillby's lap and picked up the smaller one from the floor.   
  
“Snowdin,” He whispered the the bow of his small boat. It took off in the direction of Grillby's home at a great speed, allowing them to reach it in only a few minutes. It was dark out. Grillby had left the restaurant after closing time so hopefully no one would notice the children he brought down to the cellar.  
  
The two began walking down the hill with the small skeletons in their arms. The taller one wasn't doing well. His breathing had slowed tremendously. Grillby knew he had to get started on his healing as soon as he could. It would be draining but he had to do everything in his power to keep him alive. Even if the child WAS completely fallen, in a coma. He could have prevented this.   
  
Grillby went around back, handing his friend the keys to unlock the cellar door. He walked down the stairs into his own makeshift bedroom, placing the taller child gently on his bed. He wouldn't be sleeping tonight anyways.   
  
“Take the other one into the next room and lay him on the sofa.” Grillby ordered his friend. “There should be some extra pillows and blankets in the closet. There's some medical supplies as well. Re-wrap the bandages on his arms and legs. If you could, wrap his head as well, over his right eye. Just to be safe.” He looked down, laughing bitterly, “I only wish I could spare him some place more comfortable. Poor things.”  
  
The Riverperson normally would have given Grillby a hard time about all his commands but he spared him the smart-ass remarks for another time. Nodding, he laid the small child down on Grillby's sofa and went to grab a pillow and a few wool blankets. He placed a pillow underneath his head and slipped his sweater over his head, sitting on the edge of the couch. As he began undoing the dirty bandages from around his left arm, which looked as if it had been wrapped too long ago, he felt his heart drop at what he discovered underneath them.  
  
The child had bruises and cracks and burns up on his arm. He checked under another one. Every one he found had the same mess of wounds running up the length of his arms, down his legs and around his rib cage. This couldn't had been an accident. Gaster had been performing experiments on these children. For a considerable amount of time it seemed. The Riverperson shook his head. The very thought of Wingding's doings made him sick to his stomach.   
  
Once all of the bandages had been unwrapped, The Riverperson spent a short amount of time healing the greatest of his injuries. Several of the cracks remained as scars but a few of his burns received that day from the core were healed up. He wrapped the places where cracks still remained and pulled his sweater back over him. Taking his hand under the child's head, he began wrapping bandages over his right eye. He sighed heavily seeing the large crack that ran over it. He couldn't help but wonder if he would be blinded for life. He got up from the edge of the couch and gasped one of the blankets. He spread it over the small child, tucking him in softly. He smiled sadly as he walked out of the room, taking the supplies with him.   
  
He walked into Grillby's room where his friend had already started healing the other child. He set the medical supplies on the bed next to him.  
  
“Thank you friend,” He said, “I'll work on the other one's bandages later. I don't want to stop healing him if I can.”  
  
“Grillby,” The Riverperson said, “Are you sure you don't want me to spend the night and help you watch over the children? I could help you with the healing, take shifts?”  
  
“I appreciate the offer but I cannot accept. You have done too much for me tonight. I must do this on my own.”  
  
“Why??” He asked, “It isn't sensible to take all of this on yourself. I-it isn't healthy for you old friend.”  
  
“I did this....and now I need to try and fix it. Just go home and get some rest.”   
  
“You did NOT do this Grillby.” He said. “Gaster did and you couldn't have prevented this from happening. I'm as responsible as you so please, just let me help.” Grillby sighed, saying nothing more. “Then it's settled.” He declared. “I'll go put on a pot of coffee. It's going to be a long night.”          


	16. Consequences (Part 16)

Consequences Part 16  
  
  
  
Sans, Frisk, and Papyrus had been sitting in the hospital waiting room for at least half an hour. Toriel had been in a meeting with Frisk's  doctor, discussing their conditions and medications for them to be on for the next few weeks. Frisk had fallen asleep after they put their head down on Sans's lap. The fluff of his blue jacket snuggled them, keeping them warm. Sans ran his fingers absentmindedly through the child's hair, slowly beginning to fall asleep himself. Papyrus sat to Frisk's right side. They used his extra scarf as a blanket. Suddenly, Sans caught the bleary, ice blue eyes of Toriel peaking from around the corner.  
  
“Pssst,” She whispered, “Sans,”  
  
“hnnnnng?” Sans grumbled snapping out of his drowsy, half-asleep haze. Toriel beckoned with her hand for Sans to meet her around the corner. He pressed his eye sockets lightly with the heel of his hand and started to rise from his spot on the couch before realizing the child still on his lap.  He took the top part of their body in his arms and slowly leaned them against his brother's shoulder before standing from his seat. Frisk, waking upon noticing the new strange movement, looked around confused and drowsy for a moment. They looked up with their heavy eyes towards Papyrus.   
  
“Oh!” Papyrus exclaimed quietly. “Hello sleepy human!” Though he looked absolutely exhausted, his eyes were bright and beaming as always. Frisk simply stared at him for a moment with cold, blank, blue eyes.  Dark thoughts ran through their mind for a moment. The colors seemed gray and for a fraction of a second, even the sight of a sparkling Papyrus couldn't bring black their hope. Frisk looked back at Sans for a moment who was walking up towards their mother. They sat blinking for a moment, before finally breaking from their haze and staring back at the ground. Slowly, Frisk began to climb  up onto Papyrus's lap, curling their knees close to their body and resting their head against his chest. Papyrus smiled warmly, snuggling the child tightly in response.  
  
  
“hmm...? what is it tori?” Sans murmured quite groggily, approaching the old woman around the corner. “somethin wrong?”  
  
“No no no,” Toriel replied quietly, “The doctor just asked me if I could come and bring you in for this next part. He has given me a list of Frisk's prescriptions but wanted to have the both of us in as he went over Frisk's medical report.”  
  
“really?” Sans questioned, his eye-sockets still bleary, “wonder what he needed me for.....” he trailed off. He just wanted some damn rest. He was stressed out and angry, feeling as if the world just wanted to see how much it could throw at him before he simply lost the will to live. He absentmindedly began to follow Toriel to a little room on the right wall beside them. He sat himself down at the large conference table that met him as he walked in. The dark-haired doctor  nodded to Sans while he was flipping through a few papers that were plastered to a clipboard.   
  
“Excellent,” he said, “Thank you to the both of you for being here.”  
  
“yeah yeah...” Sans interrupted somewhat coldly. “just get to the point.” Toriel flashed him a very disapproving glare. Ignoring it, Sans went on, “what the hell was so important that you needed the both of us? Can't you just talk to the kid's mom or something?” The doctor seemed only half-surprised at Sans's rude behavior. He was used to seeing the grumpy parents the day their kid is being brought home. EVERYONE just wanted to get it all over with.  
  
“Uh hmm...” He mumbled, flipping through his papers a bit more forcefully now. “I uh only assumed that during this session concerning YOUR kid, both parents would desire to be here.   
  
“Um-” Toriel tried to interject, raising a finger in the air.   
  
“You did say Frisk was your child, did you not?” He finished.   
  
shit...Sans thought. He hadn't even remembered the panicked lie he told as he tried to get to Frisk. Dammit, now was not the time to get in trouble with both Tori and the doctor.  
  
“uh....yeah, of course.” He said rather quickly, “just uh....kinda _bone tired_ from all this medical business, if you know what I mean.”  
  
“Mhm....”The doctor said, a very judgmental tone in his voice, “Yes, we really should just get started so this whole bother  with your kid doesn't mess with your sleep schedule any more than it has to. Am I correct, Sir?” Sans could feel his face growing hot as he looked down at his feet. The doctor's face grew smug as he looked away from  the skeleton and turned to Toriel, who was still staring at him with a slightly puzzled expression on her face.   
  
“Uh....” she said in a sound that resembled a sigh. She finally waved her hand and looked away from Sans, rubbing her face and looking back up at the doctor. He leaned in close to her and whispered:  
  
“I know those struggles. Husbands, am I right? Harry never takes anything seriously. I love him but he drives me crazy.” The man chuckled,  
  
“right! uh..” Sans interrupted, who being Toriel's fake husband, was feeling rather uncomfortable being talked about. “anyways, Doctor um..”  
  
“Davids.” He answered somewhat annoyed. In hindsight, Sans probably should have learned his name by now.   
  
“yeah, dr. davids. Uh so really, what did you come to say about frisk? I mean I thought you and tori already had your little chat.”  
  
“About the prescriptions yes.” Davids answered, “Now I wanted to give you the overview of their  condition and one other thing. First of all, we noticed during our examination that Frisk does not have very good sight in the first place, and the damage to their left eye only worsens their problem.”  
  
“Yes...I have noticed they tend to squint rather frequently. Even when looking at things very close to them.”  
  
“huh....yeah I guess you're right there tori....” Sans jumped in.  
  
“Yes the squinting is very harmful for them and I would suggest that they have an eye appointment soon to get some glasses or correction lenses.”  
  
“Frisk did  have a pair of glasses before they fell but they were broken when the child fell underground.” Toriel muttered “As for their eye, I have no idea what happened. They had it before  I met them so I can only assume it happened on the surface.”  
  
“Yes.....”The doctor said with uncertainty in his voice, “Obviously you don't know what happened.” He muttered, hinting that perhaps Toriel herself could have hurt Frisk. The doctor doesn't trust monsters. Sans could tell that was an obvious trait of his. “Anyways, now to talk about their speculated condition.” He yelped, trying to break the long pause that followed his last words.   
  
“speculated?” Sans asked, “what do you mean by that? like... you guys don't know what's wrong with them?” Sans felt his stomach twist in a knot, his eyes shifting slightly. He felt his own soul breaking as the image of Frisk's broken body and soul replayed in his mind.   
  
“No not exactly. We know that Frisk's appendix burst,” His eyes shifted between the two monsters as he added: “which is very normal in human  children.” Sans gave the doctor an irritated look, but couldn't find the right comeback due to the exhaustion.   
  
“Yes doctor.” Toriel replied, “I have taken care of many human children for your information.” Her eyes were narrowed and distant, almost like they were lost in her older memories.  
  
“Um of course,” he replied, “I'm uh....very sorry. I meant no offense.” Somehow, Sans doubted that. “However,” he continued, “The excessive bleeding from their mouth was concerning in itself because of how unusual it was. My first thought was that perhaps a blood vessel could have been strained while the appendix was in the process of bursting. This would have explained the severe hemorrhaging. However, during the procedure we could find no evidence of that.”  
  
“wait, you told me earlier that you were sure that was the cause.” Sans growled,   
  
“I said that we were assuming.” Davids corrected, “It was very stressful that day so pardon if I misspoke.” Sans couldn't help but feel the need to shove a blaster up this prick's fat ass.   
  
Bigoted, little bastard, and prick little son of a bitch. He could hear himself chanting in his head. This guy had no respect for monsters OR their kids. Sans couldn't help but fiddle with his fingers as he felt magic just tingling from them, straining to go to town with this guy.  
  
“And because Frisk is illegally adopted which is quite obvious, we have been unable to find any evidence of past medical records to indicate any history with anything of this matter. We wanted to keep them for further examination. But after the other skeleton used his.....magic.” The doctor made an odd face as if the very word left a strange taste in his mouth. “We could not find any evidence of any more harm done to the child. The surgery wound was even beginning to scar.”  
  
“Yes doctor,” Toriel said, “And we thank you very much for making the decision to let Frisk go home.”  
  
Yes.....”  He said, uncomfortable, “However, there was another slight issue with them. When we were searching for the child's medical records, we couldn't  even find their real identity. We really do need it for the record which now seems quite impossible.....Unless the child would care to come down to the station for some questioning.” Toriel perked up slightly at the doctor's last words. He could feel her magic dancing through her soul as well.   
  
“I have only spoken with Frisk for a short time about their life here before meeting us.” Her words were stern and cold, “For most of their time underground, they were selectively mute. They only told me that it was very painful for them. And from what I can tell, it was too traumatic of a childhood for them to even look back on. I wouldn't dare let anyone take my child and FORCEFULLY pull information from them.”  
  
“Mrs. Toriel, pardon my seeming offense, but children don't run away for no reason. They could have done something wrong or illegal or-”  
  
“No.” Toriel interrupted, “Frisk is not the kind of child that would do anything wrong to that extent.” Sans could almost hear his non-existent stomach drop at her words.  
  
“Well even then, if Frisk's family did hurt them at all, it's our job to contact the police and have them start an investigation in the first place. Even then, your custody over this child was never notarized or approved by any form of official government. I could lawfully have your child taken from you and thrown into an adoption agency until the government decides what to do about monsters adopting human children.”  
  
“I'll have you know doctor,” said Toriel placing a fist down on the table, “That Frisk was lawfully adopted under the monster government under King Asgore Dreemur while we were still underground.” Tori's soul was glowing red-hot and furious with anger.  
  
“I'm no politician ma'am, but I can damn right tell you that a monster government is counted null and void when a human child is involved.”   
  
“Don't you dare use that tone with me!” Toriel stood from her chair and was straight-out yelling at the doctor now. “Knowing what your ancestors did to us millennials ago, you have no right to tell us that our systems are void. We lived here before too so you can't just come to us and tell us that OUR system isn't GOOD ENOUGH for the surface!” Toriel was beginning to approach the doctor now, pointing her finger in his face, “And no one here is going to take my child away from me AGAIN DAMMIT!! Especially not a bigoted, selfish, smart-ass, hateful little midget like you!” The room fell silent for a moment. The doctor looked Toriel hard in the eyes. Toriel's magic was flaring from her tightened fists.   
  
“tori....” Sans spoke up quietly, “I...I think we should go now.”  
  
  
“Yes.... I believe that would be wise.” She growled. Sans hoped with the doctor's screw up, he would be off the hook for calling himself  Tori's husband. It was for a good reason anyways.   
  
Toriel stomped up to Sans before grabbing his wrist tightly and yanking him with her as she stormed out of the room. She walked up to Frisk who was now fast asleep in Papyrus's arms. Sans watched as her face changed seeing the sleeping child. Her eyes softened into a more heartbreaking look as she stared at her little Frisk. The thought of someone taking them away from her passed through her mind.....no....she couldn't lose another one.....  
  
She beckoned to Papyrus to take the child with him and follow her out of the hospital. The skeleton followed her obediently. Sans couldn't help but wonder if someone would really try to take Frisk and throw them to an adoption agency. The poor kid.....They were tough sure....but they had help. He couldn't imagine what would happen if Chara was let out of his sight...She could rip those kids apart. No. Sans wasn't going to let that happen. This kid was staying with him even if he had to fight to keep them there.  
  
  
  
Papyrus placed Frisk into Toriel's car and strapped them gently in so that we wouldn't wake them up and closed the door. He then looked for his own brother to take him home. Surprisingly, he couldn't see him anywhere.  
  
“Sans?” Papyrus asked, “Sans where are you???” A little bit of panic began to rise in his soul as he looked for his brother. He tapped on the window of Toriel's car. She rolled it down and looked at Papyrus with tired eyes.  
  
“What is it dear?” She asked.  
  
“Lady Asgore, I can't find Sans.” He whined, his eyes brimming with orange magic. “What if he got lost? O-or someone hurt him?”   
  
“Oh dear Papyrus,” Toriel said soothingly, stepping out of the car, “Calm down. I'm sure Sans is alright.   
  
“No no!” Cried Papyrus wiping his eyes with his sweater sleeve. “He's not strong and he isn't a good fighter and he could get hurt really easily!”  
  
“Honey....Come with me and we'll look for him together, okay? I'll call his cell phone.” The ringing of Sans's phone came from right behind Toriel's car. Papyrus carefully stepped behind it, only to find Sans, curled up and sleeping on the pavement.  
  
“Ugh!” Papyrus scoffed, “Oh my god Sans!” He bent over slowly and reached for his brother, pulling him up over his shoulder. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Toriel laughed weakly as she watched Papyrus place his older brother in the his own car. As she strapped herself into her car, she looked back to her own child who was still fast asleep.   
  
“Time to get you home my little one.....” She muttered, “Finally....”  
  
  
  
  
  
 ** _  
I WILL NOT BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE BY YOU!  
  
It....W-would seem the tables have turned  
  
L-look w-w-who's in control now you worthless rat!  
  
Frailty.....u-unnecessary complications....  
  
  
b-bro what are you..???  
  
D-don't get in my way  
  
…...damp floor of Papyrus's cell  
  
p-pap?  
  
Papyrus...  
  
Papyrus....  
  
Papyrus......_**  
 _  
  
  
Sans let a small gasp escape from his throat as he awoke, staring at the tall wooden ceiling of some new, unknown place. He took a moment to just lay in the silence, letting his eye-sockets adjust to the lighting. That was when a certain realization hit him. One he had noticed earlier, but had not had the time to really think about it. No light could be seen through his right eye-socket. Sans felt his stomach drop suddenly, a sickening feeling as he reached for his eye-socket. To his surprise, half of his skull was wrapped with a strange, cloth-like substance. Almost like the bandages the doctor had used...but tighter.  
  
What...had happened to him? And where was he? Sans's memory was almost too fuzzy to make any sense. He struggled to sit up on the strange bed he was laying on. His bones ached slightly, but they didn't hurt as badly as he expected them to. He found that he was almost feeling....quite comfortable...The blanket that now lay across his lap shielded him from the cold. The room was warm and almost...nice? Sans felt odd. He wasn't used to waking up somewhere that wasn't cold and the floors weren't damp and hard.  
  
But.....he also wasn't used to waking up without his brother by his side. Where WAS Papyrus? Sans could feel his breathing becoming raspy  and panicked as he scanned the strange room for his brother. He wasn't anywhere in sight. Sans grasped the fringe of his sweater, telling himself to calm down. He had to find Papyrus now, and get our of this place as soon as he could.  
  
He slowly stood to his feet, feeling the strange, new texture of the wood on his toes. There were a few little hallways cornering the small room Sans was in. He crept up to the room on this right first. In there was a small desk and chair with a bookshelf standing tall against the back wall. On the desk was a strange computer machine. It looked like the same thing **HE** had been using during the experiments. Sans felt his palms begin to sweat as his hands started trembling.   
  
W-what if they hadn't escaped _**Him** _? What if this was someone who worked with Him?? What if they tried to hurt Sans??? Worse. What if they tried to hurt Papyrus?! What if they WERE hurting Papyrus??  They could have him locked up! O-or they could be torturing him. Nonononon.....What if Papyrus wasn't here? What if he was dead?? What if he turned to dust on the floor of the core after his fight??_  
  
Wh-.....what if he was gone forever?   
  
Sans lost his balance for a moment, slipping onto the floor. He couldn't seem to stop trembling. He grasped his head trying to shake the scenarios that were playing back and forth in his head. He finally gained the strength to pull himself back into reality, telling himself that his brother was going to be okay. He could do this. He HAD to do this. He continued to peak around corners of empty rooms filled up with boxes and wooden crates. But Papyrus was no where to be seen.  
  
Finally, he reached the room that had been in front of him the whole time. Papyrus had to be here. There were no other hallways of offshoots to search. Save one room behind a closed door. Sans couldn't bring himself to look behind it. He grasped the edge of the door frame tightly, his hands shaking. As he peered through the frame, He could barely see the faint image of a figure  lying on a bed.  Sans felt his heart jump very suddenly. He wished he could see through his right eye again, never realized how difficult seeing had become . He continued to creep down the dark hallway, the figure now coming more into focus.   
  
Papyrus  
  
Sans rushed to the side of the bed upon realizing it was his brother lying there asleep. He was spread out naked on the bed, a blanket wrapped around his torso and legs and cradling his back. Sans cried out at the sight of his exposed ribs. They were all twisted and broken in strange directions. Oh no...Had  someone HERE done this to him?? No....the fight.... with the Doctor. That must have been it...  
  
“n-no n-n-no,” Sans could barely reach his brother, the height of the bed almost towering over him. He crawled up onto it, siting down and cradling his brothers skull. “p-papyrus? P-please just w-wake up?” He whispered, “please we need to get out of here! J-just w-wake up!” Sans felt his eye-sockets sting as his brother didn't respond.   
  
Jumping off the bed, He searched for a way out of the house. There were no doors leading out of there, only a small staircase with a tiny hatch at the opening. Sans struggled, pushing hard against the slab of wood with his entire body. Nothing. They were trapped. Sans gave the door one last hard push, straining with all of his strength. Suddenly, without warning, his foot slipped off the stair he balanced himself on. He fell, his back hitting the left side of the staircase, sending him flying into the dresser beside it. He let out a pained cry as the dresser fell over with a crash. Silence.   
  
Panicked, Sans listened for any other sounds that may arise. He only barely heard what sounded like a small creak. Then everything went silent again. Sans stood to his feet, waiting a few more seconds to listen before limping back over to Papyrus's side. His brother hadn't stirred an inch. He was forced to stare into the splintering mess of his brother's ribs. Hesitant memories began to flow back, slowly almost like they were stuttering in his brain. He....couldn't remember much. There was Sans...and Papyrus....a-and....Him.....  
  
lights  
  
pain....  
  
darkness...  
  
“Oh!” A voice cried from behind Sans. “I didn't realize you were awake yet.” He jumped, spinning around to face the mysterious voice. Reflexively, he outstretched his left arm in front of his brother as a defense, taking a protective stance, gritting his teeth as his left eye began to glow, flashing and glitching blue and yellow lights. “Oh my! I-I'm so sorry,” he stuttered, nearly spilling his coffee, “I-I did not mean to startle you.”   
  
Sans said nothing, rather he watched the monster intently. He was....very strange looking. Different than any monster Sans had ever seen. He was very tall, much like Him. But he didn't look much like a skeleton. He was glowing? And flickering like a candle. Sans was....very confused. Even his voice was strange. It was....soft and quiet like his own. But he couldn't understand what he was saying. Some of the words were familiar, but they weren't making any sense.  
  
The strange monster took a step forward towards the two of them. In retaliation and fear, the small skeleton took a step back, away from the man. He stopped in his tracks as Sans recoiled.   
  
“Oh no no i-it's alright little one...” He said softly, trying to soothe the terrified child. “I-I am not going to harm you.” Sans turned his head, unable to understand what he was trying to say. Despite the calm in his voice, he still didn't believe he could trust the man. “Hmm....” the man said, “Do you not understand what I am saying to you?” he asked. Sans said nothing. Then the man had a realization. “Oooh!” he shouted hitting himself on the head. Sans jumped at his change of voice. “I'm such an IDIOT!”  If Wingdings had raised these children, why would he not use his own tongue? The man then changed his words into ones that Sans could interpret.   
  
“There now, how is this? Can you understand me better now?”. Good thing he had learned a bit of Wingdings from speaking with Gaster. Sans hesitantly nodded. “Good.” The man replied, “I am very sorry for the misunderstanding.” He looked at the dresser that was lying on the floor. “I heard the sound of the dresser falling a few minutes ago. Are you alright? You are not hurt are you?”   
  
Sans looked down at his leg, which was bruised a small bit. “Oh you hurt your leg?” he asked, “I-I can help you, i-if you'd like. My name is Grillby.”   
  
Grillby.....Sans had heard this name mentioned before by Him. Perhaps this was the same one? Sans jumped back upon the mention of his name, his breathing becoming ragged and quick. If he knew Him he might try to bring them back. Or worse. He might continue to hurt them like He had.  
  
“Dear me...” Grillby exclaimed, stretching out his hand, “No no....I-it's alright. I am not going to harm you. I promise.” Sans just stared at him, wide-eyed and terrified. “Hmm...” The poor child...Whatever Gaster had done to the two of them...it must have been horrific to cause this much mental damage. “Let's try this then...if you can speak, could you tell me your name?” He wondered if Gaster had even GIVEN the child a name.   
  
“I...” Sans stuttered quietly. “m-my name....i-is...sans.”   
  
“Sans?” Grillby asked. “Yes...that is a very nice name. And who is this?” he pointed to the skeleton laying on his bed.  
  
“m-m-my br-brother....p-papyrus..” he stammered.  
  
“So....Papyrus and Sans.” He muttered to himself. He looked back to Papyrus, where he had left off from healing him.”Sans, d-do you know how Papyrus was wounded like this?”   
  
Memories continued to trickle through Sans's brain.  The core....and Him. The Doctor, during his fight with his brother. Driving a bone into his chest....breaking the surrounding ribs. Papyrus's screams as his bones were shattered. EXPLOSIONS......And Papyrus's broken body being slammed into wall and falling limp on the ground.  
  
“h-hhhhh.....” He shuddered, bright blue filling the rim of his eye-sockets.”h-him...” He whispered.  
  
“Him?' Grillby asked. He felt a feeling of dread himself as he posed the next question. “W-who....who is him?”  
  
“t-the.....the doctor.” He rasped. Grillby felt his stomach drop.”h-he attacked him...a-and now....h-he won't wake up....” he cried,his sobbing becoming louder. “a-and I couldn't....i-i couldn't stop him....” At that moment, Sans's legs gave out completely. He fell to the ground, letting his magic die down with it. He held onto his stomach, trying to control his hiccuping sobs. Grillby set his coffee on the ground, carefully stepping up to the child. He sat down on the floor in front of him, not wanting to touch the child in case  it may terrify him. His eyes were closed tightly, his arm shaking uncontrollably.   
  
“Shh....” Grillby shushed, “It's okay Sans....”  
  
“i...i was t-too weak t-to stop him.....” He cried out, “ I-i tried to save him....b-but t-the doctor just grabbed me....a-and threw me around...a-as bait.....s-so he could make papyrus fight!!” San grabbed hard at Grillby's shirt sleeve. Hesitantly, Grillby placed his other hand against Sans's skull, stroking it gently. He could feel his own eyes burning. Gaster had committed worse crimes that he could have imagined. “And h-he w-was going to k-kill me....j-just so he could push p-pap...p-past his l-limits....” Sans felt himself fall into Grillby's lap as he continued to cry.   
  
“Shh....my child....I..I am so sorry.....” Grillby himself felt he might cry as he took the child into a tight embrace, rocking him gently.  
  
“h-he won-t wake up.....” he sobbed quietly, “p-please....i just want him t-to wake up....m-my b-brother.....i-i killed him....”  
  
“Nonono...No this isn't your fault Sans.....” He whispered. “shhh.....shhhh.....”  
  
“i-i'm so sorry pap.....” he said in rasping sobs, “i.....i'm so sorry......”


End file.
